908.526.4244
ABOUT SDA
REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL & CONSULTING FIRM
Sterling DiSanto & Associates is a New Jersey based real estate appraisal and consulting firm providing a broad range of services to corporations, government agencies, institutions, law firms, accounting firms and private clients.
The company is managed by Russell K. Sterling, MAI, AI-GRS, CRE and Victor D. DiSanto, MAI who combined have over 70 years of experience. Our services include real property valuation, consultations, arbitration, litigation support, and recognized expert testimony.
Our extensive experience includes valuation and advisory services for a variety of needs of just about every type of property found in New Jersey and the surrounding areas. We have appraised vacant land, conservation easements, multi-family and mixed-use projects, retail properties, office buildings, industrial buildings of all types, golf courses, data centers and special purpose and unusual properties.
Our clients have used our services for buying, selling and leasing property, acquisition and donation of conservation easements, right of way acquisitions and eminent domain, tax appeals, estate planning and date of death valuations.
The success and longevity of our firm is attributable to our reputation for providing a well researched and reasoned approach to solving even the most difficult real estate problems while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.
FOUNDED IN 1946
BY CALVIN M. SCHWARTZ
This company was founded in 1946 by Calvin M. Schwartz, MAI. In the early years, Cal was a Realtor and appraiser, mostly preparing appraisals for the Veterans Administration home loan guarantee program, a benefit for military servicemen.
During the 1950’s, Congress authorized the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Miles of rights of way needed to be acquired through eminent domain for the new interstate highways. This required the services of experience real estate appraisers in order to estimate value of the private property being acquired. In some cases, there would be differences of opinion regarding the Market Value of the acquisitions and Cal’s opinions would be tested in court. Cal’s career and the business took a new direction: litigation valuation and real estate expert testimony.
Over the years, Cal earned a reputation as one of the most respected litigation valuation appraisers in this region. As a real estate expert witness, he was known for his character, demeanor, sense of humor, credibility and professionalism. But he was also known for hiring and training the next generation of appraisers. One such trainee was Russ Sterling who was hired by Cal in 1979.
Cal was an excellent teacher and mentor. Russ work side by side with Cal, earning the MAI designation of the Appraisal Institute (called the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers at the time). In 1985 Russ and Cal became business partners. Cal retired several years later.
In 1996, Victor DiSanto joined the firm and quickly became talented property valuation expert. After earning his MAI designation in 2002, Victor became a partner in the firm. The firm continues to this day as Sterling DiSanto and Associates.
Russ and Victor are committed to values taught by Cal as well as the standards of practice and ethics of the Appraisal Institute. Like Cal, they and are also committed to developing the next generation of appraisers.
Over the years both Victor and Russ have held a number of positions in the Appraisal Institute. Victor has been president of the local chapter and has taught hundreds of appraisers as an Appraisal Institute qualified instructor. Russ has served the profession on a local and national level helping craft policies and programs designed to assist the professional development of appraisers.