Specialties

Currently active as a day-to-day hands-on, licensed practitioner, consultant and expert witness for all types of real estate (residential, commercial, office, retail, hospitality, medical/dental, self-storage, etc.), including all aspects (except valuation) - standards of care, best practices, industry standards, and custom and practice standards for the ownership, management, operations, and maintenance, including property management/ownership, transactions and fiduciary duty issues – health & safety, habitability, roaches, bed bugs, mold, water intrusion, personal injury, trip & fall, slip & fall, premises liability, balcony collapse, wrongful death, lack of security, failure to maintain, property inspection, due diligence, wage/hour, negligent hiring/supervision, security deposit issues, rent stabilization ordinances (RSO), broker or agent failure to disclose; misrepresentation; negligence/fraud & association board duties, and real estate receivership.

Degrees/Licenses

Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) since 1997; Certified Property Manager (CPM) since 1986; Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) since 2004; Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) since 2002; Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM) since 2003; Real Property Administrator (RPA) since 2018; Graduate, Realtor Institute (GRI) since 1999; Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) since 1988.

Formal Education

BS-Business Economics/Real Estate Finance, 1981; MBA-International Finance/ Real Estate Finance, 1986; MSBA-Real Estate Development, 1988. All degrees obtained at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California - Los Angeles.

Registration and Licenses

CA Real Estate Broker (1984-Present); NV Real Estate Broker (2002-Present); NV Property Management Certificate (2002-Present).

Previous/Current Position

City of San Diego Planning Commission (2005-2013) IREM National Instructor (1988-Present); Vice President, San Diego Receiver’s Forum; President, Escape for All Seasons Association (2014-2023); Secretary (1997-2001).

Honors/Awards

IREM Academy of Authors 1st Place (and only award presented), best Television Broadcast journalism, NBC News, National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE), 49th Annual National Real Estate Journalism competition. 1st Place, best Radio Broadcast journalism, Clear Channel Communications, National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) 48th Annual National Real Estate Journalism competition, host of “Real Estate Today! with Robert Griswold”. CPM Professional Achievement Award (only the 6th active recipient in CA). AMO Firm of the Year (San Diego 1998).

Prof. Affiliations

Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) -CPM® and ARM®; American Society of Real Estate Counselors® (CRE®); Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA®; San Diego County Commercial Association of Realtors® (SDCCAR); San Diego County Apartment Association (SDCAA); California Apartment Association (CAA); National Apartment Association (NAA); Community Associations Institute (CAI)-PCAM®; California Association of Community Managers (CACM) - CCAM® and Management Firm Council; San Diego Association of Realtors® (SDAR); California Association of Realtors® (CAR).

Publications

Author of Property Management Kit for Dummies; Co-author of Real Estate Investing for Dummies; Co-author of Landlord's Legal Kit for Dummies. Co-Author of Mortgage Management for Dummies. Several of these books have been translated (Mandarin, Russian, French, German) as well as adapted for the international market in Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.

Prior Expert

40+ years experience; consultation: 4,000+ litigation matters; deposition: 700+ Sworn testimony in trial or arbitration: 200+ occasions in state and federal matters throughout the US (California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, Alaska, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, N. Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Florida, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and other states). Plaintiff 50%, Defense 50%. Consultant/Expert witness on all aspects of real estate.

Specialties

Expert in Real Estate and Property Management issues including Residential, Commercial, and mixed-use properties. Experienced in organizational assessments, asset repositioning, investment feasibility, litigation support (personal injuries, standard of care, premises liability security, partnership, brokerage and fee disputes, employment, rent control, etc.), due diligence, business development practices and marketing.

Formal Education

BS, Business, with emphasis in Real Estate, University of Colorado.

Registration and Licenses

Licensed California Real Estate Broker; Graduate Foundations of Leadership Program from the Center For Creative Leadership.

Previous/Current Position

Principal, S.D. Epcar & Associates; Principal/Founding Partner, Ventana Property Services; President, Prometheus Management Group. Background also includes positions of increasing responsibility with a variety of real estate brokerage, development, and investment firms.

Honors/Awards

Awarded Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management.

Prof. Affiliations

Institute of Real Estate Management; Forensic Expert Witness Association; National Multi-Housing Council (past Board Member); California Housing Council (past Board Member); Building Owners and Managers Association; National Association of Realtors; California Apartment Association (Member, Property Management Policy Subcommittee); National Apartment Association; Housing Industry Foundation (past Board Member).

Prior Expert

Practicing real estate consultant with significant expert witness and litigation support experience (50% Plaintiff/50% Defendant). Background includes exposure to many markets throughout California, the United States and Canada. Experience includes 1031 Exchanges and Tenant-In-Common (TIC) investments. Comprehensive understanding of San Francisco Rent Control.

Specialties

A nationwide specialist consulting and expert witness company (established 1973) that concentrates exclusively in Banking, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Financial Services, Economics / Statistics and Accounting and related Damages.

MCS Litigation Practice – CV

Areas of Expertise include:
BANKING: Operations/Administration, Depository/Checking Accounts, Regulatory issues, Compliance; LENDING (all categories - including Residential, Commercial, Construction, Corporate, Personal, etc.), Underwriting, Credit/Administration, Servicing, Policies/practice; FINANCE: Securities, Investments & Brokerage, Trusts & Fiduciaries, Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts, Investment Banking, Corporate Finance; REAL ESTATE: Lending, Brokerage, Title/Escrow, Property Management, Development; INSURANCE (all categories): Coverage, Claims, Broker/Agent functions, Industry Custom/Practice, Policy Underwriting; Operations and Actuarial; DAMAGES & ACCOUNTING, Economics, Statistics, Valuations/Appraisals, Forensic Accounting & Accounting/Audit.

Degrees/Licenses

MBAs; PhDs; CPAs; ASA/MAIs; CPMs; CREs; CFPs; RE Brokers/Agents; Insurance brokers/agents; CPCUs; CLUs; ARMs and many more.

Prior Expert

Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting have been the primary focus of the company’s services for the past 30+ years, built on the expertise, resources and reputation of four decades as a leading provider of financial, operations, management and compliance consulting and expert services in our areas of specialization.

With 500 highly qualified and experienced experts/consultants providing evaluation, testimony and litigation consulting on behalf of both plaintiff and defendants of all types, our clients include leading national and regional law firms, many smaller/boutique litigation firms and attorneys, numerous governmental / regulatory agencies (FDIC, SEC, IRS, US and State DOJs, FHLB, etc.), financial institutions, and a wide-range nationwide of corporations and private individuals.

We also provide TARGETED SEARCHES AT NO COST for unique, hard-to-find/unusually specialized experts not already within our wide-ranging group; STRATEGIC ALLIANCES NATIONWIDE across the banking, financial, real estate and insurance industries; LEADING EXPERTS from the worlds of economics, accounting, academia and the regulatory agencies; POWERFUL CAPABILITIES IN DAMAGES, Forensic Accounting. Economic Analysis, and Valuations / Appraisals.