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From appraisal-valuation
Provides five valuation methods for utility transmission, pipeline, rail, telecom, and temporary construction easements, compliant with USPAP, CUSPAP, Yellow Book, and IVS.
npx claudepluginhub reggiechan74/vp-real-estate --plugin appraisal-valuationHow this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/appraisal-valuation:easement-valuation-methodsThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
This is the canonical easement-valuation skill in the marketplace. Other skills (notably `right-of-way-expert`) reference this skill rather than duplicate its methodology. Keep it self-contained and authoritative.
VERSION.mdcompensation-tables.mdcompliance-framework.mdeasement_calculator.pyeasement_calculator_base.pyhydro_easement_calculator.pyhydro_input_schema.jsonhydro_inputs/example_230kv_transmission.jsonhydro_inputs/example_500kv_transmission.jsonhydro_inputs/example_69kv_distribution.jsoninput_schema.jsonpipeline_easement_calculator.pypipeline_input_schema.jsonpipeline_inputs/example_crude_oil_transmission.jsonpipeline_inputs/example_natural_gas_deep_burial.jsonpipeline_inputs/example_water_transmission.jsonrail_easement_calculator.pyrail_input_schema.jsonrail_inputs/example_elevated_rail.jsonrail_inputs/example_subway_tunnel.jsonQuantifies severance damages for remainder parcels after partial takings: frontage loss, circuitous access, landlocked easement cost-to-cure, shape efficiency development yield loss, farm disruption.
Valuates land via income approach: capitalizes market rent for telecom ground leases, agricultural land, ground leases, and easements. Includes cap rate selection.
Coordinates utility transmission corridor planning with conflict detection, relocation design, cost estimation, schedule risk, and generates CUSPAP-style location overview narratives for appraisal reports.
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This is the canonical easement-valuation skill in the marketplace. Other skills (notably right-of-way-expert) reference this skill rather than duplicate its methodology. Keep it self-contained and authoritative.
Methodology is compliant with USPAP 2024 (USA), CUSPAP 2024 (Canada), Yellow Book / UASFLA (US federal acquisitions), and IVS 2022 (international, IVS 105).
Core principles:
For the full standards treatment, reconciliation framework (Steps 1-5), adjustment hierarchy, and related-skill integration, see compliance-framework.md.
| # | Method | When to Use | Core Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Before-and-After | Preferred for partial takings, federal acquisitions (Yellow Book), Ontario expropriations, most USPAP/CUSPAP assignments | Value Before − Value After = Compensation |
| 2 | Percentage of Fee | Quick estimate; published ranges available for the corridor type; supplemental support for other methods | Easement Value = Fee Value × Easement % × Affected Area |
| 3 | Income Capitalization | Revenue-generating easements (telecom, agricultural rent loss measurable); perpetual duration; reliable cap rate | Easement Value = Annual Income Loss ÷ Cap Rate |
| 4 | Before/After Paired Sales (market extraction) | Excellent paired sales available; only difference is the easement; statistical validation possible | Easement % = (Comp w/o Easement − Comp w/ Easement) ÷ Comp w/o Easement |
| 5 | Rate-of-Return (TCEs only) | Temporary construction easements when rental market data unavailable | TCE Value = Fee Value × Annual Rate × (Days ÷ 365) + Damage + Business Losses |
The federal method, preferred under USPAP/CUSPAP for partial takings:
Compensation = Value of entire property BEFORE easement
− Value of entire property AFTER easement
Equivalent to the Take-Plus-Damages framework (direct land taken + severance damages to remainder), which is sometimes required by client/jurisdiction for itemized reporting. The two frameworks are mathematically equivalent when properly applied. See worked-examples.md §2 for a side-by-side numerical comparison.
For severance damages to the remainder parcel (access loss, shape irregularity, farm operation disruption), use the severance-damages-quantification skill.
Historical market analysis shows a 5-35% range by easement type. Quick reference:
| Easement Type | Typical % of Fee |
|---|---|
| Access easements | 5-15% |
| Utility transmission (legacy ranges) | 10-25% |
| Pipeline corridors (legacy ranges) | 15-30% |
| Modern IRWA-aligned calculator ranges | 25-40%+ |
Full base-percentage tables (by voltage, rail type, pipeline product, and corridor sub-type) plus all domain-specific adjustments live in compensation-tables.md.
Convert annual rental income (or productivity loss) to capital value using a cap rate adjusted for easement permanence and risk:
Easement Value = Annual Income Loss ÷ Capitalization Rate
Discount rate selection (full table in compensation-tables.md §5):
Adjustments: +0.5-1% for uncertain renewal; +1-2% for risky operators; -0.5% for government guarantees; -0.5-1% for indexed escalations.
Agricultural-rent and telecom-site rental tables are in compensation-tables.md §5; worked example for agricultural land is in worked-examples.md §1.
Ideal paired sales criteria:
Extraction:
Easement % of total property = (Adjusted no-easement value − Adjusted w-easement value) ÷ no-easement value
Easement % of affected acres = Total-property % ÷ (Affected acres ÷ Total acres)
For 10+ paired sales, use hedonic regression:
Sale Price = β₀ + β₁(Acres) + β₂(Soil Class) + β₃(Frontage)
+ β₄(Easement Presence) + β₅(Easement Acres) + ε
Implied easement percentage = β₅ ÷ fee-simple per-acre value. Statistical thresholds: R² > 0.70, p < 0.05, VIF < 10.
Full adjustment grid, regression interpretation, and a worked extraction are in worked-examples.md §3.
For rigorous comparable-sales adjustment methodology, use the comparable-sales-adjustment-methodology skill.
Temporary construction easements use rental value for duration plus restoration costs, not capitalized perpetual income.
Preferred — Fair Market Rental: research comparable land rents, apply to affected area, prorate for duration, add damage / restoration / business losses.
Fallback — Rate-of-Return (when rental market data unavailable):
TCE Value = (Affected Fee Simple Value × Annual Rate × Days ÷ 365)
+ Physical Damage Restoration Costs
+ Business / Operational Losses
Annual rates (compensation-tables.md §5):
Duration adjustments: short (<30 days) — daily rate may exceed prorated annual due to fixed setup costs; medium (3-12 months) — standard prorated calculation; long (1-3 years) — may approach permanent easement value; apply 2-4%/yr escalation.
Worked TCE examples (agricultural rental method and industrial rate-of-return method, plus 3-year escalation calculation) are in worked-examples.md §4.
For construction-period noise / dust / vibration / traffic impacts, use the injurious-affection-assessment skill.
Three domain calculators wrap the shared core (easement_calculator_base.py) with corridor-specific base percentages, adjustments, and reconciliation weights.
| Calculator | Required Param | Default Reconciliation Weights |
|---|---|---|
hydro_easement_calculator.py (transmission lines) | voltage_kv | 50% % of fee / 30% income / 20% before-after |
rail_easement_calculator.py (rail / transit) | rail_type (+ optional rail_alignment) | 50% % of fee / 20% income / 30% before-after |
pipeline_easement_calculator.py (pipelines / subsurface) | pipeline_type | 45% % of fee / 30% income / 25% before-after |
Full base percentages and adjustment factors per calculator are in compensation-tables.md §§1-3.
Shared core capabilities (easement_calculator_base.py): TCE rate-of-return, income capitalization, before/after comparison, dynamic reconciliation, sensitivity analysis.
Subject: 15-acre permanent easement on 100-acre Class 1 farm; fee simple value $12,000/acre.
| Approach | Calculation | Indicated Value |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of fee | 15 ac × $12,000/ac × 15% | $27,000 |
| Income capitalization | 15 ac × $60/ac annual loss ÷ 4.5% cap | $20,000 |
| Before/after paired sales | One paired-sale analysis (adjusted) | $24,000 |
Weighting 40% / 30% / 30% → weighted average $24,000; range $20,000-$27,000; final reconciled value $25,000 after sensitivity testing (cap rate ±1%, percentage ±5%).
Full reasoning, sensitivity check, and a parallel before-and-after vs. take-plus-damages comparison are in worked-examples.md §§2 and 5.
severance-damages-quantification.injurious-affection-assessment.compensation-tables.md — base percentages and adjustments for hydro, rail, pipeline calculators; agricultural rent and telecom rental tables; discount and TCE rate tables.worked-examples.md — detailed walkthroughs per method (income cap, before-after vs. take-plus-damages, paired sales with adjustment grid and regression, TCE rental and rate-of-return, full reconciliation example, end-to-end transmission workflow).compliance-framework.md — USPAP/CUSPAP/Yellow Book/IVS deep dive; reconciliation framework (Steps 1-5); adjustment hierarchy; related-skill integration.VERSION.md — version history (do not edit unless updating versioning).hydro_easement_calculator.py, rail_easement_calculator.py, pipeline_easement_calculator.py, easement_calculator_base.py, plus input schemas and tests.