Buena Vista Oceanside, LLC v. Optimum Bank (In re Buena Vista Oceanside, LLC)

479 B.R. 342
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 16, 2012
DocketNo. BR 11-24516 (JKF)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 479 B.R. 342 (Buena Vista Oceanside, LLC v. Optimum Bank (In re Buena Vista Oceanside, LLC)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buena Vista Oceanside, LLC v. Optimum Bank (In re Buena Vista Oceanside, LLC), 479 B.R. 342 (Pa. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION1

JUDITH K. FITZGERALD, Bankruptcy Judge.

INTRODUCTION

The matter before this court is a Motion for Valuation of Secured Claim and Avoidance of. Lien filed by Buena Vista Ocean[345]*345side, LLC (hereafter “Debtor”). On April 9th and 10th of 2012, a trial was held to hear evidence regarding the value of the Buena Vista Hotel and the Courtyard Villa Hotel (hereafter “Properties”). The Properties are owned by the Debtor and are operated as two small hotels located in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, on El Mar Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Optimum Bank, the creditor in this matter, (hereafter “Optimum”) has a first priority mortgage lien on the Properties.

FACTS

Debtor is a limited liability company that owns and operates the Properties. The first of the two Properties, the Buena Vista, consists of fourteen units and is located across the street from the beach. The second, the Courtyard Villa, consists of eight units and is situated on the beach front.

On or about November 30, 2005, Optimum made a loan to the Debtor in the amount of $4,368,000 evidenced by a Promissory Note executed by Debtor in favor of Optimum. As security for repayment Debtor made, executed and delivered to Optimum a Mortgage Deed and Security Agreement. Pursuant to the Mortgage, the Debtor granted Optimum a first priority mortgage lien on the Properties.2

Debtor commenced the above-captioned case by filing a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 7 on July 20, 2011. On August 8, 2011, this court entered an order converting this case to a chapter 11. Debtor is currently in possession of its assets and managing its affairs as a debt- or-in-possession pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 1107 and 1108.

On September 1, 2011, Optimum filed a Proof of Claim in the amount of $4,977,984.70, which was docketed as Proof of Claim # 1. On October 5, 2011, the Debtor filed a Motion for Valuation of Secured Claim and Avoidance of Lien. Motion for Valuation of Secured Claim and Avoidance of Lien, Oct. 5, 2011, ECF No. 98. The motion sought a determination of the secured claim of the Debtor’s senior lender, Optimum. In response to the motion, this court ordered that the Debtor and Optimum each obtain an appraisal of the Properties for an opinion on the fair market value of the two hotels. Order of Court, Oct. 11, 2011, ECF No. 109. On January 3, 2012, this court entered an order stating, among other things, that the Proof of Claim “is hereby allowed in its entirety” and that “the secured portion of the claim will be determined in a separate valuation proceeding.” Order of Court, Jan. 3, 2012, ECF No. 159.

To prepare for the April 2012 Valuation Hearing, the parties hired professional appraisers. Debtor retained Jesse Vance3 (hereafter “Vance”) who rendered an opinion on the market value of the Buena Vista as $770,000. Debtor also used the opinion of Ronald Ames4 (hereafter “Ames”) who rendered separate opinions on the market value of the Buena Vista as $750,000 and [346]*346the Courtyard Villa as $805,000. Optimum retained Lawrence Pendleton (hereafter “Pendleton”) who rendered an opinion on the value of the Buena Vista as $1,950,000 and the Courtyard Villa as $1,425,000. Based on these appraisals, the Debtor asserts that the collective value of the Properties is $1,690,000 and Optimum asserts that the value is $8,375,000.

The experts submitted their reports pri- or to the trial and all three experts testified at trial regarding their opinions.5 The three experts are all MAI-certified appraisers,6 and at trial the parties stipulated that Vance, Ames and Pendleton were all experts qualified to provide their opinions as to the value of the Properties. The appraisal reports prepared by each of the experts were admitted into evidence by stipulation of the parties.7

All three appraisers utilized two methods to value the properties: the Sales Comparison Approach and the Income Capitalization Approach. They agreed that the Cost Approach was not appropriate for this case. This court concludes that the most reliable method for this particular property is the Income Capitalization Approach and will rely on that method in determining the value of the properties.8

WEIGHT OF THE TESTIMONY

While reviewing the opinions provided we keep in mind that courts are given “wide latitude” when determining the value of property. In re 210 Ludlow Street Corp., 455 B.R. 443, 447 (Bankr.W.D.Pa.2011). “[A] bankruptcy court is not bound by valuation opinions or reports submitted by appraisers, and may form its own opinion as to the value of property in bankruptcy proceedings.” Id. Courts are permitted to give weight to all or only certain portions of an appraisal when making a determination as to value. Id. at 448. As such, this court will not rely on any of the experts exclusively, but will reconcile the evidence by making adjustments to each of the reports, as will be detailed below.

Although the parties stipulated to the experts’ qualifications, they raised questions regarding the validity of each appraiser’s opinion. This court has considered these questions in determining the weight accorded to each opinion, as the experts have presented the court with widely differing values.9

While the court sees minor flaws impacting the reliability of each appraiser’s opinion, none are so severe that we find it necessary to reject any of the three opin[347]*347ions in toto. We have considered all of the evidence, evaluated each appraiser’s numbers and examined each appraiser’s rationale, including responses to questions posed by the parties regarding validity. Although we do not rely on any one appraiser exclusively, we find that certain aspects of the appraisers’ opinions are more reliable than others. Thus, the court will utilize the Income Capitalization Approach as discussed by the experts and select the numbers and rates which best estimate fair market value in a “piecemeal” manner. The numbers and rates this court selects are based on the appraisers’ expertise, the market data they compiled, the research they organized, the reliability of their determinations, their credibility and the condition of the Properties subject to the appraisals.

DEFERRED MAINTENANCE

Before coming to a conclusion on the value of the Properties we will discuss the role of deferred maintenance in the valuation process. Deferred maintenance has been described by the witnesses as work that should have been completed on particular property, but was not, and must be completed in order to get that property back into good condition. The costs of such maintenance should be deducted from the value of the property to which it applies. According to The Appraisal of Real Estate, “deferred maintenance items typically require a lump-sum adjustment in the sales comparison and income capitalization approaches because these problems are specific to the subject property and would not be reflected in the values provided by comparable sale or comparable rental properties.” Appraisal Institute, The Appraisal of Real Estate 428 (13th ed. 2008).

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Bluebook (online)
479 B.R. 342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buena-vista-oceanside-llc-v-optimum-bank-in-re-buena-vista-oceanside-pawb-2012.