Real Estate: Lease Audits Consultants: 7

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

Bedrock Investments Group (BIG) acquires undervalued, strategically located single-tenant net-leased properties that deliver predictable cash flow to our partners. Their streamlined Commercial Real Estate Acquisition Process and in-depth Due Diligence result in noteworthy investment opportunities. BIG's conservative, disciplined approach results in investment performance that provides for consistent cash flow and equity growth. BIG has an exceptional track record of delivering cash flow at above-market rates without burdening their properties with debt. 

The team at BIG identifies undervalued net leased properties throughout the U.S. that have solid fundamentals and creditworthy tenants. They acquire and hold these freestanding, single-tenant net leased (STNL) properties as long-term investments. Typical sellers include estates, partnerships in dissolution, lender REOs, and investors facing less than three-year lease terms 

Strategies:

• Complete due diligence and acquisition thoroughly and quickly, thereby ensuring the seller of a timely transaction
• Centralize the decision-making process by eliminating the need for many layers of approval
• Evaluate worst-case scenarios
• Provide hands-on, active property management at competitive rates

Dr. Dick Bridy, a Principal at BIG, brings over 40 years of broad experience in Commercial Real Estate Acquisitions and Development to the firm. He is the entrepreneurial founder and CEO of DBI Group, a boutique real estate firm specializing in commercial retail centers and single-tenant properties. 

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Bridy developed expertise in team brokerage, leasing, private equity funding, construction, and asset management. From the ground up, he and his team entitled and built two shopping centers and five single-tenant properties. In addition, he has supervised the redevelopment of over 3.5 million sq. ft. of gross leasable area in 14 shopping centers. Through extensive research, market valuation, physical inspection, and financial analysis, Dr. Bridy targets ideal properties with maximum economic potential for Bedrock’s portfolio.  

View Dr. Dick Bridy's Expert Witness Profile.

Griswold Real Estate Management has been dedicated to providing superior Property Management, Receivership, and Expert Witness Services for over 30 years. With offices in Las Vegas, San Diego, and Los Angeles, they serve southern Nevada and all five southern California counties. Properties include single family homes, condominiums, apartment communities, homeowners associations, commercial and retail space, and self storage facilities. Griswold Real Estate Management has been awarded the Accredited Management Organization (AMO®) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). Across the country, less than 5% of all management firms have earned this distinction, by fulfilling the most stringent requirements in expertise, education, integrity, and financial stability. 

Property Management Services:

Highly Responsive Management Team Aggressive Marketing Plan Comprehensive Tenant Screening Aggressive Rent Collection 24-hour On-call Maintenance

Complete Financial Accounting Annual Budget Preparation Review of Vendor Contracts Vendor Supervision Personalized Service and Expertise

Principal, Robert S. Griswold, CRE, CPM, CCIM, ACoM, RPA, PCAM, CCAM, GRI, ARM, is currently active as a day-to-day hands-on, licensed practitioner, consultant, and expert witness in all aspects of real estate (except valuation). A 3-time graduate of the distinguished Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California with a BS ('81), MBA ('86), and MSBA (2nd Masters) ('88) in real estate and related disciplines, Mr. Griswold is a recognized expert on management of all types of residential real estate. He has actively managed over 70,000 residential units and several million square feet of commercial, industrial, self-storage, and retail properties nationally in the last 40+ years. He has extensive experience as a court-appointed receiver (over 200 times) for private lenders and major financial institutions. 

Litigation Support - In the last 30+ years, Mr. Griswold has consulted on over 4,000 litigation matters, been deposed over 750 times, and provided sworn testimony in trial or arbitration on over 200 occasions in both state and federal litigation matters throughout the United States. Also serving as a court-appointed bankruptcy Custodian and Referee, his casework is very evenly divided between plaintiff and defense work. Mr. Griswold is uniquely qualified to opine on real estate-related litigation matters, having authored or co-authored the 9 best selling real estate books: Real Estate Investing For Dummies, Property Management Kit For Dummies; Mortgage Management for Dummies and Landlord's Legal Kit For Dummies. His 15+ years as an On-Air NBC-TV Real Estate Expert and a similar tenure as a major radio station weekly talk show host have prepared him to explain complicated matters at an 8th-grade level and persuasively present opinions to juries.

Author - Robert Griswold is the author of the nationally best-selling book on real estate management, Property Management Kit For Dummies, which has sold over 100,000 copies in less than 5 years. He also co-authored Real Estate Investing For Dummies, another bestseller in the category with nearly 100,000 copies sold, and Landlord's Legal Kit For Dummies. 

 View Robert Griswold's Expert Witness Profile.

James H. Cantrell, CPM® is the President of CANTRELL ASSOCIATES and was President of Cantrell, Harris & Associates, a San Francisco based Real Estate Management and Consulting firm that was formed 30 years ago. Consulting - With decades of Asset and Property Management experience. Mr. Cantrell specializes in the turnaround of properties with Deferred Maintenance and Mismanagement. He has managed a variety of product types. including rent-controlled, apartments, association management, high-rise office, industrial! warehouse properties, retail, and large hotels for both private and institutional investors. His experience has included establishing hands-on management programs that have maximized the values of the various investments. 

Background - James Cantrell began his career with Arlen Realty as a property supervisor, handling properties in the United States Investment Fund Portfolio, and has held the position of Equity Administrator with Clevetrust Realty Investors, responsible for managing numerous properties throughout the Country. He also served as Treasurer of Regency Equities, a Real Estate Investment Trust, traded on NASDQE, and was President of Plaza Equities Management, Inc., with a national portfolio of approximately $275 million of mixed assets under his direction. He currently teaches a number of courses for the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and has taught throughout the United States, in Russia and Poland. He was an Associated Professor at Golden Gate University for 9 years teaching a course in Asset/Property management in the MBA program.

Honors and Awards - Mr. Cantrell served as President of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), San Francisco and has been honored with receiving the IREM SF Instructor of the year in 2001 and 2007. He also received the IREM 2013 Lloyd Hanford, Jr. Distinguished Faculty Award.

Engagements - Mr. Cantrell was engaged as the Featured speaker for the National Facility Management and Technology Conference in Chicago in 2007 and Baltimore in 2008. He was also appointed to the San Francisco Mayors "Building Energy Efficiency Task Force" in 2009.

View James Cantrell's Expert Witness Profile.

Petru Corporation is a full service land consulting company offering a full line of Title, Natural Resources, and Land services.

Incorporated in 1986, Petru serves the needs of the title, title insurance, oil, gas, mineral, geothermal, wind, solar, mining, environmental, and right-of-way industries; legal, engineering, subdivision, developers, and land planning professions; government; lending and trust institutions; water purveyors; utilities; real estate companies; and the individual and business communities.

Petru Corporation and Tim Truwe were featured on Enterprises TV, aired on Fox Business Network and were published in Black Gold in California, the story of the California Petroleum Industry and also in The Business Elite, Corporate America.

Consulting Services:

Title Consulting Title Searching Title Examining Title Reports Title Engineering Title Insurance Plot Descriptions and Easements Map Drafting and Map Review Property Inspections Right of Way/Easements Water Rights

Leasehold Estates Oil, Gas, Mineral and Mining Consulting Subdivision Map Act Negotiate Oil and Gas Leases Regulatory Consulting Permitting/Regulatory Title Insurance Underwriting Support Title Insurance Claims Due Diligence Acquisitions and Divestitures Mining Claims

Timothy B. Truwe, President and Chief Financial Officer of Petru Corporation, is a Registered Professional Landman (#23542) and a Registered Environmental Property Assessor (#569045). He specializes in Title, Natural Resources and Land Matters issues and offers a full line of title, and land services.

Background - Mr. Truwe started his career in 1973 in the title, resource, and regulatory industries. His career includes employment and training at Ticor Title Insurance Company (now Chicago Title Co.) as Title Searcher, Title Officer, and Title Engineer. He also worked at Ogle Petroleum Inc., as Assistant Land Manager in the Land/Legal Department. His responsibilities at Ogle included both onshore and offshore assets and the technical and administrative oversight of several thousand parcels of land and leases in excess of one million acres.

Steven D. Epcar, CPM an Expert in Real Estate and Property Management Issues with 35+ years of experience;including residential, commercial, retail, hotel, condominium and mixed-use properties. Experienced in litigation support including standard of care, partnership conflicts, brokerage issues,landlord/tenant, valuation, personal injury, habitability, environmental, life safety cases. 

Steven is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA).  He serves as a real estate consultant for institutional and private investors, providing an array of services: asset/property management related assignments, organizational assessments, financial feasibility, due diligence,and new development services. 

Previously, Mr. Epcar served as President, Residential Services for Carmel Partners a R/E investment/management firm in San Francisco, Principal/Founding Partner of Ventana Property Services, a West Coast third party management and consulting firm and President,Prometheus Management Group,a development/investment/management firm.

Areas of Expertise:

Standard of Care Issues Personal Injury Matters Partnership Conflicts Tenant-In-Common (TIC) 1031 Exchange Assessments Security/Life-Safety Issues Lease Compliance Issues Environmental Matters

Habitability Landlord / Tenant Disputes Fiduciary Duty Issues Property Inspections Contractor Defects and Disputes Premises Liability Real Estate Broker Duties Rent Control Compliance/Violations

Andrew Shedlin, BA, JD, CRX, CLS, CSM, is an acknowledged industry leader in the field of Real Estate Leasing. He specializes in consulting on the Development and Leasing of Shopping Centers & Airports for both developers and retailers. Mr. Shedlin serves as a developer and consultant for dozens of shopping center landlords and tenants. He also has extensive experience in Airport Retail and Restaurants as both landlord and tenant.

Mr. Shedlin has developed or redeveloped more than 35,000,000 square feet of shopping centers as principal or consultant and at all of the top 50 airports in the US, and negotiated more than 15,000 leases as principal, consultant, landlord or tenant (as a business person and attorney), his clients have included dozens of international, national, regional, and local retailers and restaurants. Mr. Shedlin is a longtime member of ICSC’s faculty of the John T. Riordan School for Professional Development and a founding member of ICSC’s CLS Admissions and Governing Committee. He has received the ICSC Trustee’s Distinguished Award, serves on the ICSC Illinois State Committee and was previously NY/NJ state director for ICSC. Mr. Shedlin has taught at both Columbia University Graduate School of Business and Georgetown University Law School and holds a JD from Boston University. He frequently lectures at business schools, law schools, and for industry groups on Shopping Center Leasing, Understanding Leases, and Business Ethics.

Litigation Support - Considered the definitive industry expert in negotiating and interpreting shopping center and airport leases, Andrew Shedlin has worked as an expert on dozens of landlord / tenant disputes involving Interpretation and Enforcement of Leases and Shopping Center Management. He has worked with major law firms in numerous cities throughout the US. His services are available to counsel representing plaintiff and defendant and include written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Mall Leasing Airport Leasing Landlord / Tenant Disputes

Lease Interpretation Lease Enforcement Shopping Center Development and Redevelopment

Background Experience:

• Halperin, Shivitz, Scholer & Steingut - Associate
• Arlen Shopping Centers - Executive Vice President & Counsel
• Equity Properties and Development Company - Executive Vice President (responsible for leasing and development)
• Previously owned and operated 2 retail businesses
• Facilitated entry of several international retailers into the US market
• Authored several chapters in real estate publications on subjects of leasing and understanding the lease
• Co-authored definitive audio tape on lease negotiations
• Frequently quoted in media publications