Randall Bell (born 1959), is a socio-economist,[5] real estate economist and appraiser,[2] expert witness,[6] and author based in Los Angeles, California known for dealing with stigmatized property.[7][8] Bell is an expert on real estate damages,[6] who authored a highly referenced textbook on the subject,[9][10] and was called "Dr. Disaster" by The Wall Street Journal.[11] Bell's notable cases include: Nicole Brown Simpson's Los Angeles condominium, the mansion where 39 Heaven's Gate members died of suicide, the JonBenét Ramsey house in Colorado, the World Trade Center site, and properties damaged in the Rodney King riots and by Hurricane Katrina.[10][12][13]
Randall Bell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Real estate damage economist[2] |
| Known for | "The Master of Disaster"[3][4] |
| Children | 4 |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | UCLA, Fielding Graduate University |
| Thesis | Posttraumatic Behaviors: The Socioeconomic Reasoning of Homeowners Who Voluntarily Remained in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina[1] (2013) |
| Doctoral advisor | Miguel Guilarte, PhD |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Socioeconomics |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
editBell grew up in Fullerton, California as the son of an engineer and homemaker, and attended Troy High School.[14] He has an MBA from UCLA.[7][10][13] He received his doctoral degree from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, with a dissertation on the socioeconomic reasoning of Hurricane Katrina survivors.[1]
Career
editBell began working on appraisals of environmental and asbestos damage in the 1980s.[11] He has also assessed Chinese drywall and sink holes.[6][10] In 1992, Bell assessed the damages of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. After the riots, he decided to focus only on damaged properties. Also in 1992, Bell created the Bell Chart, a rating system that categorizes the 10 types of detrimental conditions and their corresponding economic damages of properties.[8][14][11] The system ranks properties from class 1 (no detrimental effects) to class 10 (an incurable condition).[11] In 1994, he began assessing stigmatized properties such as the damages of the Northridge earthquake and wildfires in Malibu, California.[15][13] In 1997, he became the national director of the Real Estate Damages practice of Price Waterhouse.[10] He left the firm in 1999, and co-founded Bell Anderson & Sanders with two partners.[10] He is presently CEO of Landmark Research Group.[16]
Bell works with properties that have been affected by crime, environmental contamination, construction defects, reported hauntings, and natural disasters.[15][17] He has consulted on Nicole Brown Simpson's condominium; the Beverly Hills estate where Charles Manson's followers murdered Sharon Tate and four other people in 1969; the Rancho Santa Fe mansions where the bodies of 39 Heaven's Gate cult members were found, the house in Boulder, Colorado, where JonBenét Ramsey was killed; the home of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza; and the house of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock.[3][14][10][13][11][18][19][20] He has also consulted on Hurricane Katrina; the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands; the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center; and the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville.[10][13] Bell has traveled to Chernobyl, Hiroshima; to the World Trade Center site; and to Egypt, Jordan, Israel and West Bank to find comparisons in properties damaged by terrorist attacks.[6][11] He has also traveled to Antarctica to interview scientists about climate change and how it affects costs, such as insurance for home owners.[21] The Appraisal Institute published Bell's book Real Estate Damages: Applied Economics and Detrimental Conditions in 2008.[6] In 2011, Bell returned from Guam, where he consulted with landowners whose property included the cave where Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese army sergeant, hid for 28 years, unaware that World War II had ended. The landowners opened a theme park on the property.[6]
In recent years, Bell has begun writing self-help books, inspired by his interactions with disaster victims and his personal experiences with overcoming trauma and obstacles.[9]
Bell hosted the 2020 docuseries, Distressed Real Estate, produced by Topic Studios.[22]
Bibliography
edit- Real Estate Damages: An Analysis of Detrimental Conditions (1999) (ISBN 0922154554)
- Property Owners Manual (2004) (ISBN 0974452114)
- Owners Manual (2004)
- Business Owners Manual (2004) (ISBN 0974452130)
- Home Owners Manual (2004) (ISBN 0974452122)
- Disasters: Wasted Lives, Valuable Lessons (2005) (ISBN 9781930819436)
- Strategy 360: 10 Steps for Creating a Complete Game Plan for Business & Life (2008) (ISBN 1933969164)
- Rich Habits Rich Life (2016) (ISBN 9781933969237)
- Me We Do Be: The Four Cornerstones of Success (2017) (ISBN 0996793119)
- Leo Fender: The Quiet Giant Heart Around the World (2017) (ISBN 0996793143)
- Post-Traumatic Thriving (2021) (ISBN 0996793178)
Personal life
editRandall Bell lives in Laguna Beach, California with his wife and has four children.[14][12] Bell volunteers at the Laguna Beach homeless and rehabilitation center, Friendship Shelter.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b Bell, Randall (2013). Posttraumatic Behaviors: The Socioeconomic Reasoning of Homeowners Who Voluntarily Remained in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (PhD). Santa Barbara, CA: Fielding Graduate University, UMI Dissertation Publishing.
- ^ a b Rachel Bianco (18 November 2020). "'A look at San Diego's most infamous homes'". ABC 10 News San Diego. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ a b Nanci G. Hutson (4 December 2014). "'Master of Disaster' helps Newtown acquire gunman's home". Greenwich Time. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ Lauren Beale (19 May 2012). "'Celebrity sellers have little effect on home prices'". LA Times.
- ^ Kathleen Elkins (7 April 2017). "7 'rich habits' of highly successful people, from a man who studied them for 25 years". Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Cynthia Anderson (December 1, 2011). "Tragic events stigmatize properties". Sarasota Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
- ^ a b Cynthia L. Webb. "Appraiser puts a price tag on sites of tragedy". Associated Press.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b Vincent J. Schodolski (1997-11-21). "Need To Sell A House With A History? Call Randall Bell". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ a b c Cooker, Matt (March 16, 2016). "Randall Bell Made Millions Appraising the Real Estate of Infamous Homes". OC Weekly. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cynthia Anderson (2011-12-02). "Tragic events stigmatize properties". Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ a b c d e f Christina Binkley (16 May 1997). "Dr. Disaster has a prescription for problem properties". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ a b Andrew Khouri (2013-10-11). "Appraiser is go-to guy for stigmatized properties". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ a b c d e Jeff Collins (2013-08-09). "Appraiser of doom finds his niche". OC Register. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ a b c d "Master of Disaster". People. 1997-11-03.
- ^ a b Carole Fleck (May 1997). "Stigma or Superstition?". Realtor Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ Clare Trapasso (2 September 2021). "More Storms Like Ida Will Probably Come, Upending Real Estate Markets". Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Should sellers disclose a house's dark secret? In some states it's the law". The Guardian. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ Cowan, Alison Leigh (12 December 2014). "Newtown Weighs What to Do With Adam Lanza's Home". New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ "How to Sell a House of Horrors". ABC News. May 5, 2006. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
- ^ "Las Vegas mass shooter's Nevada home is up for sale". AoL. 3 October 2018.
- ^ Andrew Khouri (October 8, 2013). "Does Satan Worship Affect Value". LA Times.
- ^ Distressed Real Estate (TV). 2020.