Our Appraisers

Michael Yovino-Young (view CV) grew up in Albany and Berkeley, attended local schools and after a stint in the Air Force, worked as a mortgage banker in Washington, D.C. before returning to Berkeley and Cal for an MBA degree. Starting his appraisal career in 1960 as a disciple of a legendary pioneer in the real estate appraisal industry, George Hoyt, FASA, the opportunities were many to appraise an extraordinary variety of property types ranging from 5000 acre ranches, oil wells, gold mines, and perhaps the most unique, the island of Alcatraz.

An avid sailor and former Commodore of Berkeley Yacht Club, Michael has developed a specialty in appraising waterfront properties including marinas, islands, aqua-culture businesses, boat yards, and larger scale developments in water front locations.

Since 1975, hospitality properties became another specialty with appraisals of more than 450 bed and breakfast inns, boutique lodging properties, and destination resorts throughout California, various western states, British Columbia, and Mexico. Michael was a co-author of a pioneering bi-annual financial operating data study of the small lodging industry that now encompasses the entire country. He is an annual speaker in events by both state and national lodging organizations.

In 1978, Michael was appointed Chief Appraiser by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in a special investigation of the then L.A. County Assessor. The 18 month assignment included appraising and auditing appraisals of more than $1 billion in high profile real estate including Dodger Stadium, major film studios, possessory interests at Los Angeles International Airport, major office building buildings including Century City and downtown Los Angeles. The job concluded with testimony before a Grand Jury.

Michael's teaching career started early as a Assistant Lecturer at Cal, followed by more than a decade at California Extension and Peralta Junior College District campuses, and eventually, as a Senior Lecturer on the Adjunct Faculty of the Graduate School at Golden Gate University.

Alison Teeman (view CV) grew up in Oxford, England and graduated from University College, London with a degree in law. She practiced as a Solicitor in London where her training ranged from music business to crime and a little real estate. She moved to the Bay Area in 1980 and decided she did not want to be a lawyer in California.

Her early appraisal career at Yovino-Young, Inc. included all types of residential and commercial work but her legal background encouraged her to specialize early in more complex residential cases. She frequently testifies as an expert witness and is often Court Appointed as an expert. Complex assignments have included some unusual insurance cases, including the House that fell in a sink-hole in San Francisco and, during 1991- 1992, she completed or oversaw appraisals of close to 1,000 properties in the Fire Storm Area of the Berkeley/Oakland Hills.

She enjoys the challenge of the unusual and varied housing markets found in the Bay Area and while she is often appraising architecturally significant or multi-million dollar property, she is equally willing and able to value a local bungalow. She has been a licensed Certified General Appraiser since 1992 and is FHA approved.
Alison supervises the residential appraisers at Yovino-Young, Inc. and trained three of the current staff.

When she is not busy in the office or looking at real estate she is a great theatre lover. Alison served on the Board of The Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley and was Board President from 2004-2006. She is still very involved with The Aurora Theatre as a member of its Capital Campaign Committee and as a donor and patron.

She lives in the Rockridge area of Oakland with her husband of 27 years and they enjoy escaping to their cottage on Tomales Bay in West Marin County.

Peter Overton (view CV) began his appraisal practice in 1986, and was awarded the MAI designation by the Appraisal Institute in 2000. His areas of specialty include student housing, day-care facilities, schools and churches, and other special purpose institutional properties. In addition, his appraisal experience includes a wide variety of properties for eminent domain and other litigation related matters such as construction defects. One notable area of specialization, which occasionally takes him outside the immediate East Bay area, is the appraisal of quarries.

Peter’s interests and background are many and varied. He attended the School of Architecture at MIT and graduated from Knox College in Illinois. Arriving in Berkeley from Chicago in 1969, he pursued ceramics at the Berkeley Potter’s Guild, followed by years of participation at Berkeley and San Francisco Zen Centers. He worked at Tassajara Bakery and Acme Bread Company, producing exceptional bakery goods for such well known restaurants as Greens in San Francisco.

In 1984, he and his wife Susan settled in Berkeley and have raised two children. They spend much time in their garden. Peter continues to be involved with Berkeley Zen Center and has begun mediation training at Bay Area Non-Violent Communication (NVC). He and his wife (who is a residential appraiser at Yovino-Young) live in Berkeley two blocks from the office.

Susan V. Brooke (view CV) was born in Oakland and has always lived in the Bay Area with the exception of one year of college in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her college years at UC Berkeley commenced 1958 and completed 1983. Susan’s father was an architect and builder and she has always appreciated the abundance of notable historical and contemporary buildings in the East Bay. For twenty years she and her husband have organized Spanish classes for California nurses in a small coastal village in Mexico where they spend 2-3 weeks in November. Susan and her family live in two places: the City of Sonoma and Stinson Beach.

Susan specializes in the appraisal multi-unit properties, land, and unusual residences, for estate and dissolutions and private transfers.

Adam M. Lehman (view CV) was raised in Kensington , California, attending Berkeley Schools throughout his primary and secondary education. He graduated Berkeley High School in 1979. Adam received his Bachelors degree in Business Administration & Finance from Chico State University in 1984. After a stint of business ownership, Adam started his career in appraising in 1989. In his 20-year tenure with Yovino-Young, Adam's valuation experience includes appraisals for mortgage lending purposes, and in a wide variety of litigated matters involving marriage and partnership dissolutions, construction defects, issues involving diminution in value, and testimony as an expert witness. Adam lives locally in El Cerrito with his wife and two children. Adam remains strongly connected with the local community through friends and family. He is an active volunteer at his children’s public school, currently serving as vice president for the “Dad’s club”. In his spare time Adam enjoys biking, travel, and spending quality time with his family. He is a serious Raider fan.

Matthew N. Smith (view CV) has a particular interest in multiple-family properties such as apartments, affordable/senior housing, congregant care facilities and student housing. Recent assignments include valuation of several large apartment complexes (150+ units), an assemblage of land acquired for development of a senior housing project, churches, SRO hotels and public housing projects. In his personal life, Matt is closely involved in the operation of his own residential properties, a family-owned horse-boarding facility in Marin County and extensive timberland holdings in the Sierras.

Diana Yovino-Young (view CV) was born and raised in Berkeley, California and graduated a proud Yellow Jacket from Berkeley High School in 1984. She was recently nominated to The Berkeley High School, Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008 for volleyball. She continued her education and volley ball career at UC Berkeley and graduated in 1989. She and her husband live in Berkeley and have two children who are growing up in the same city and attending the same public schools as they did. Diana has always enjoyed the unique and architecturally significant dwellings that Berkeley is renown for and feels fortunate to have grown up in such a wonderful environment.

Susan Overton (view CV) is from an old California family who have lived in Monterey since California was part of Mexico. She lived at Tassajara Hot Springs in Carmel Valley, and Green Gulch Farm in Marin, before arriving in Berkeley in 1976 which she found to be an ideal urban environment. She moved to San Francisco to train as a pattern maker in the garment industry and establish herself there and then back to Berkeley in 1983 to raise a family. She continued to work in the garment industry until 2001, when after eight years at Gap headquarters, she wanted to work closer to her teenage children.

Susan is married to Peter Overton, an MAI at Yovino-Young, Inc. She was fortunate to have the opportunity to join the residential department at Yovino-Young, Inc., training directly under Alison Teeman, where she was exposed to a wide range of appraisal challenges. Susan continues to enjoy the varied challenges presented by the diverse residential properties in the Bay Area and is embracing "Green Construction" concepts with enthusiasm.

Marian Huntoon (view CV)

under construction, coming soon

Tamara Spokane (view CV) is a true California Girl. She was born in San Diego, grew up in Los Angeles, and moved to Berkeley in 1995 to attend UC Berkeley. She graduated in 1999 with a bachelors degree in Integrative Sciences. Living in San Francisco, Tamara worked at a variety of dot com jobs, which led her to the appraisal industry in 2001 where her initial focus was on live-work lofts. Her appraisal experience advanced rapidly as assignments to appraise a variety of properties took her all over the region and she quickly became the lead appraiser in 2003, and within a year she was training other appraisers.

In 2005 she joined the Yovino-Young family of appraisers and now lives in Oakland. Almost immediately, Tamara became the protege of Michael Yovino-Young in his specialty of appraising boutique lodging and hospitality properties, especially bed and breakfast inns, of which she has now appraised more than 50 businesses throughout Northern California.

Since the best thing about San Francisco is the view from the Berkeley Hills, Tamara’s favorite thing to do is to hike with her dog and new baby girl up above the Claremont Hotel and behind Cal’s football stadium on the trails of Strawberry Canyon. Her other hobbies and interests include yoga, dancing and cooking.

Erica Merovich is Yovino-Young's Office manager and has been with the company since 2010. A California native raised in Coronado, she has called the Bay Area home for over 40 years. After marrying and raising two children, Erica re-entered the workplace as the Office Manager to firms specializing in event management, property management and now at Yovino-Young. Erica is usually the first person our clients talk to when they call the office; routing incoming appraisal orders, tracking job statuses, and managing all billing inquires. She is essential to the smooth flow of the office and a great support to all the appraisers. In her spare time she enjoys reading, political chat, swimming, sewing, watching the San Francisco Giants and visiting her two grown children.