Since the client of a private expert opinion naturally has a personal interest in the outcome, the court attaches less evidentiary value to it than to a neutral appraisal report commissioned by the court itself.
Nevertheless, a well-founded expert opinion can provide valuable professional arguments to substantiate doubts about an opposing or court-appointed appraisal report.
In many cases, a convincing expert opinion leads the court to direct additional questions to the court-appointed valuer or to order a supplementary appraisal report.
To increase its evidentiary value, an expert opinion should be structured just as methodically carefully and comprehensibly as a court appraisal report, ideally prepared by a publicly appointed or certified valuer.
A convincing expert opinion is often used already in advance of court proceedings in order to facilitate an out-of-court settlement between the parties.
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