John G. Petersen is a founding partner of Petersen LaChance Regan Pino, LLC, a real estate appraisal and consulting firm serving public, private and institutional clients throughout New England and the Northeast.  William A. LaChance, MAI, SRA, joined Mr. Petersen to form Petersen/LaChance Realty Advisors in 1994.  John Regan, MAI, and Richard Pino united with Messrs. Petersen and LaChance to establish the current company in 2011.

Prior to establishing Petersen/LaChance, Mr. Petersen was affiliated with Byrne McKinney & Associates, Inc., a real estate appraisal and consulting firm in Boston, where he was a Senior Associate.  Prior to this, he was Vice President/Senior Review Appraiser with Home Owners Federal Savings, one of the largest savings and loan associations in the Northeast.  Other professional experience includes appraisal and brokerage positions as well as community development and city planning positions with local governments in Massachusetts.  His real estate appraisal and consulting career began in 1982, with a continuous practice spanning over 28 years.

John Petersen also served as Regional Appraiser for Region 1 (New England) of the General Services Administration.  Under the broad administrative oversight of the Director, Portfolio Management Division, he was responsible for the development and application of real estate appraisal principles and practices in support of GSA’s Public Building Service, which includes over 10 million square feet of space in 56 federally owned buildings in New England.  Mr. Petersen served as the regional expert in the valuation of real estate for a broad range of projects within GSA and assisted Central Office (Washington) in rewriting appraisal policy for the Fair Annual Rent program.  He also provided technical reviews and consulting services for Border Station land acquisitions, redevelopment and exchanges under Special Operations, and projects under the purview of the Disposal Division in facilitating the sale and reuse of surplus federal property.

Mr. Petersen personally has completed more than 3,000 appraisals and 5,000 appraisal reviews.  Property types include (but are not limited to) apartment and condominium projects, residential properties, industrial facilities, biotechnology facilities, food processing facilities, gas stations, convenience stores, retail centers, office properties, hotels, motels, car washes, marinas, boat yards, salvage yards, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, airports and aviation facilities, self-storage facilities, mobile home parks, farms, schools, skating rinks, special use properties, undevelopable land, and land development and redevelopment projects.

In addition, Mr. Petersen has experience in highest and best use studies, marketability and feasibility studies.  Further, he has experience in the valuation of full and partial interests for eminent domain, such as easements and leaseholds, in conformance with Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions.  Mr. Petersen has valued several undivided fractional interests, including those requiring discounts for lack of control and/or marketability.  He has extensive experience in complex, multi-tenant property valuation and evaluation assignments and is proficient in both Pro-Ject® and Argus® financial analytical software.  He has also consulted on several land development projects for private and public entities.

John Petersen is a member of the Appraisal Institute, having been awarded both the MAI and SRA designations.  The Appraisal Institute is the largest professional appraisal organization in the country and the MAI and SRA are widely regarded to be the most prestigious general and residential appraisal designations, respectively, conferred in North America.

Mr. Petersen has been active in professional appraisal organizations for over two decades.  He has served in several leadership capacities in the Appraisal Institute, including: chair, (National) Experience (peer) Review Committee; chair, Chapter Admissions Committee, chair, Chapter Government Relations Committee.  He served two, three-year terms on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Appraisal Institute.  He has held every chapter officer position, including President, and served as a Regional Representative to the Institute.

His formal education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology with a Concentration in Urban Studies from Northeastern University.  The core curriculum in this program included courses in Urban Economics, Urban Geography, Economic Geography, Community Analysis, Transportation Management and Environmental Studies.

John Petersen served on the Amesbury Planning Board from 1986 to 1994 and chaired the Board for two terms.  He is the former chair of the Amesbury Industrial Development Commission.  He is licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Construction Supervisor (#019079) and Real Estate Broker (#9062031).  Mr. Petersen is a state certified-general appraiser in Massachusetts (#837), New Hampshire (#405) and Maine (#1297) and has qualified as an expert witness before the Federal Bankruptcy Court, Essex County Superior Court and the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board.  He holds a Private Pilot License and owns a single engine aircraft.