An estate appraisal establishes what the property was worth on the date of death, not what it is worth today. That date sets the tax basis the heirs inherit, which is why the analysis is anchored to it and why the support behind the conclusion matters more here than almost anywhere else.
What this assignment is scoped to do, stated before you engage.
When property passes at death it is valued as of that day, because that is the day it transferred and the day the basis was established. A current value answers a question nobody in the estate is asking.
That makes this a retrospective assignment. I analyze the market as it existed on the date of death using sales that were available then, and I inspect the property as it stands now while identifying anything that has changed in between. Both halves are disclosed in the report.
When property passes at death, the heirs' cost basis generally resets to fair market value as of that date rather than what the deceased originally paid. If the property is later sold, that reset can substantially reduce the capital gains exposure.
A supported appraisal is what documents the number. I am not a tax advisor and I do not give tax advice; how the reset applies to a particular estate is a question for the estate's attorney or CPA. What I provide is the valuation the filing rests on.
County assessed values are mass-appraised. They are produced in volume by statistical models, they are frequently wrong on individual properties, and they are not developed to any standard the IRS recognizes as a qualified appraisal.
If the estate is never examined, nobody looks closely. If it is examined, an assessment is the weakest document in the file. That asymmetry is the whole argument for getting a real appraisal at the outset.
No. Retrospective appraisals are routine work, and the market data from that date still exists in exactly the form it always did. Sales that closed in that period did not stop being evidence because time passed.
What takes care is accounting for what changed at the property since. A roof replaced, a kitchen redone, a deteriorated outbuilding removed. Those are identified and adjusted for rather than ignored.
Most estates face a second question the moment the first one is answered: what to do with the house. The date of death appraisal tells you what it was worth when it passed to you. An as-repaired value tells you where a scope of work takes it from there. Measured against what that work costs, the two together show which items add value and which do not.
The as-repaired value is a separate opinion, developed subject to completion of a repair scope you give me in writing, either an itemized list or a contractor bid. I advise, you choose, and the report values the scope you gave me.
Advising on that list is part of the work rather than an extra. I walk the house with you, and with whoever else in the family should be there, and give you my read on three things: what the house needs so it will appraise and qualify cleanly if financing is ever involved, what a tenant or an insurer will not overlook and should be handled before anyone moves in, and what is ordinary maintenance that can wait for your own schedule.
If the estate is selling rather than keeping the house, the same walk covers the other side of it: what this market actually pays for, what curb appeal is worth here, what a buyer will need in place for FHA, VA, USDA or conventional financing, or a cash sale, and what the house does not need at all. This is about what a buyer's financing will require. I am not a VA fee panel appraiser and perform no VA assignments.
You decide what goes on the list. That call is yours, not mine, and I need it back in writing before I put a value on it. Nothing has to be decided before the inspection.
Some estates need more than the date of death value. When the family is deciding whether to sell, the useful pair is the retrospective value as of the date of death and the current market value as of today. I develop those as two separate reports on one assignment, each with its own effective date, its own comparable sales and its own certification, so neither one borrows support from the other. That matters the moment a beneficiary, a CPA or the IRS reads them side by side.
One inspection covers both, so it is less work than engaging twice. Say at the outset if you expect to need both, because the intended use and the intended users are settled before I begin rather than added afterward.
A lender form report runs about 20 pages, with 2 to 6 pages of grids depending on the property, then photographs and maps. In a narrative report the written analysis alone commonly runs 40 pages or more.
That difference is the point rather than the padding. An estate report is read by a beneficiary who was not there, a CPA who has to defend a basis, and sometimes by the IRS, and each of them is looking for the reasoning behind the number. Length follows from writing the reasoning down. It is not a promise about your assignment, which depends on the property.
Usually the executor or administrator engages me and the estate covers the fee. Sometimes the estate's attorney engages me and bills it through. The engagement is what determines who my client is and who the report is prepared for, so it is worth settling before I begin rather than after.
Who does the work. I have been in the business since 1997 and licensed as an appraiser since 2000. I have been a field appraiser and Chief Review Appraiser at two national appraisal management companies, I ran an appraisal desk reviewing other appraisers' work, and I have done litigation work. That is what I bring to your house and to the report.
The walk-through. Most appraisers photograph a house and leave without speaking to anyone. I walk it with you, tell you what I am looking at and why it moves the number, and answer your questions on the spot.
I measure the house myself, to the ANSI standard, and never use the county's square footage. From those measurements I draw a professional floor plan sketch, and it is yours to keep and use at no extra charge. Most owners have never been given one.
Your privacy. The report goes only to you and anyone you name. It is not submitted to any data portal, it is not reported to the county, it does not affect your tax assessment, and it never appears in MLS or the public record.
No need to clean. Whether the dishes are done does not touch the value. I am appraising the structure and the quality of its finishes. Interior photographs are taken in every room because a credible report requires them, and personal photographs, religious items and anything personal are blurred or cropped out.
A narrative, not a form. Most people get a six to ten page checkbox form. The numbers are there but the reasoning is not: you cannot tell why a comparable was chosen or where an adjustment came from. Mine covers the same nuts and bolts with the reasoning written out, held to the standard that another appraiser could follow the work and arrive where I did.
That's a date-of-death appraisal, and it's a routine assignment. I analyze the market as it existed on the date of death, using sales available then, and inspect the property today while noting anything that has changed.
The current value isn't the relevant question. The value on that date is.
Because that's the date the property transferred and the date the tax basis is established.
This makes it a retrospective assignment: the analysis is anchored to a past date rather than today's market.
When property passes at death, the heirs' cost basis generally resets to fair market value as of the date of death rather than what the deceased originally paid. That can substantially reduce capital gains tax if the property is later sold.
A supported appraisal documents that value. I'm not a tax advisor. Your CPA or estate attorney should tell you how this applies to your situation.
You can try. County assessed values are mass-appraised, frequently inaccurate, and not developed to any standard the IRS recognizes as a qualified appraisal.
If the estate is examined, an assessment is the weakest thing you can be holding.
No. Retrospective appraisals are routine. The market data from that date still exists.
I inspect the property as it stands today and account for anything that changed in the interim.
Usually the executor or administrator, with the estate covering the fee.
Frequently, yes: to establish values for the inventory, to support tax filings, and to divide property fairly among beneficiaries. Your probate attorney will tell you what your specific case requires.
You will reach Scott directly. Expect questions about intended use and effective date before a fee is quoted.
Discuss an estate assignment