Professionals

Joe Milkes

Joe Milkes has almost 30 years experience in real estate as a commercial broker, property manager, asset manager, appraiser and consultant. For the last dozen years, Mr. Milkes' has had his own practice, through which he provides real estate valuation, consultation, estate/portfolio valuation and litigation support. He provides appraisals that conform to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), which make them admissible in court as evidence.

Mr. Milkes has been qualified in a number of federal and state courts as an expert witness and successfully passed Daubert challenges. In his extensive litigation experience, Mr. Milkes has served as an expert witness and consultant in real estate issues relating to valuation, bankruptcy, property contamination, leases, condemnation and taxes. He has worked on a wide range of property types throughout the US.

On a recent assignment, Mr. Milkes appraised a property for a client who was at risk of losing a valuable ground lease. Although the tenant had made substantial improvements, the landlord filed suit arguing that the property had declined in value, which put the tenant at risk of losing the lease. On short notice, Mr. Milkes provided thorough retrospective and current valuations to support the tenant's position. He was able to identify key issues apart from the valuation that were critical in the case. The judge ruled in the tenant's favor, protecting the leasehold position.

On another project, a debtor put a real estate entity in bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. Due to severely depressed market conditions, the property was unable to support the debt payments. The debtor sought relief from the court to provide sufficient time for market conditions to improve. The court agreed with Mr. Milkes' value opinion and provided relief to the debtor in the form of reduced loan payments for a sufficient amount of time for market conditions to improve. At a later date when market conditions improved, the debtor was able to sell the property and repay the loan.

In another situation Mr. Milkes helped a Debtor-in-Possession by providing appraisals of its industrial properties with limited markets. The appraisals demonstrated the change in valuation for three different selling circumstances: normal sale, liquidation value and quick-sale auction value.

Mr. Milkes is a Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) and holds the MAI designation for real estate valuation. He is licensed to appraise property in Texas and other states. He is active in the local Appraisal Institute chapter and maintains contacts with real estate professionals throughout the country. As a member of the Board of Adjustment for the City of Plano, he has exposure to a wide range of tax and real estate-related issues; prior to that he sat on the Appraisal Review Board for the Collin Central Appraisal District. Mr. Milkes is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) of the National Association of Realtors and has worked with CCIM chapters on a local and national level. He is a featured speaker on real estate matters for continuing education events targeted for professionals in accounting and law. He is regularly interviewed by Fox Business News as an expert on real estate appraisal issues and their impact on the subprime lending crisis.

Mr. Milkes serves on several nonprofit foundation boards and actively volunteers in the community. He continues to do pro-bono professional work for non-profits, local governments, the elderly and the indigent.

Mr. Milkes received his BA from Michigan State University. He also holds an MBA in finance from Southern Methodist University and a Masters in Social Work from West Virginia University.