Opinion ID: 2139868
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Valuation of Welton's Home

Text: Defendants next argue that the court erred when it concluded that Welton's home had a fair market value of $80,000 at the time of the Mid America transaction. Instead, defendants believe the home was worth no more than $65,000. The district court drew the $80,000 figure from Welton's own testimony. Defendants' $65,000 figure is drawn from the testimony of Bloemer, one of the defendants in this case. Apparently, Bloemer has some expertise in real estate. Defendants believe, therefore, that the district court should have relied on his appraisal rather than that of Welton, a lay witness without significant knowledge about real estate. [7] But we have long held that a landowner is qualified to testify to the fair market value of his or her own property. [10] And while testimony of an expert in real estate may sometimes be more reliable regarding the value of property than testimony from a lay witness, that would not be true where the trial court had reason to doubt the expert's credibility. The district court specifically found that Bloemer was not credible. Any additional skill that Bloemer had in identifying property values was rendered moot as a result. We cannot reassess the credibility of witnesses on appeal [11] and therefore conclude that defendants' argument in this regard is without merit.