Who we are
Wert-Berater, Inc. has prepared independent feasibility studies for lenders, certified development companies, and federal agencies since 1998 — more than four thousand engagements representing $40.2 billion in evaluated project value across all fifty states and international assignments. Our fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never to the sponsor’s optimism: fees are fixed, quoted up front, never contingent on findings, and a determination is never changed under pressure.
What we do
Land analysis asks a different question than project feasibility: not whether a stated project works, but which use the parcel's location, zoning, physical characteristics, and market context most profitably support. The highest and best use study screens candidate uses for legal permissibility, physical possibility, financial feasibility, and maximal productivity in the appraisal-discipline sequence, then concludes a residual land value under the indicated use. For entitled land and pad sites, the analysis values the entitlement itself — the spread between raw and approved land — and tests the absorption assumptions buried in the takedown schedule.
How we do it
The firm's HBU methodology develops full development-cost and residual-value models for each surviving candidate use, with RSMeans location-adjusted budgets, market-derived rents and cap rates, and explicit screening of uses that fail immediate feasibility — including ranked deferral of uses that may become feasible under future conditions. Conclusions are presented as concluded residual values, not advocacy for a predetermined outcome.
How we can help you
Land and HBU studies support conventional acquisition and development lending, municipal and institutional decision-making, and pre-application screening for SBA and USDA projects where the proposed use must first be demonstrated to be the right one. Recent HBU work includes a $95,000,000 highest and best use engagement in Durham, North Carolina, a healthcare-and-flex-hub residual analysis in Eustis, Florida concluding $1,342,640 across 54,000 SF of indicated use, and a municipal parcel portfolio in Mountain Home, Idaho.
How to engage us
Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data. Rush delivery for deals already in underwriting is accepted case by case for an additional fixed fee, quoted up front and committed in writing. Engagements are typically initiated by the borrower, with lender or CDC confirmation obtained before work begins — institutions differ, so confirm the procedure with your lending contact.