Welcome, everyone, to the first entry in the “Appraisers Journal.” Each week I’ll be posting an informational and educational post related to gemology and appraising. There are many misconceptions and questions about what appraisals and their importance. We’re going to jump right in this week with what seems to be the perfect place to start: “What is an appraisal?”
“A professionally rendered appraisal is a disinterested and impartial value conclusion determined by using an accepted value definition that is executed with an understanding in market analysis and research, appraisement methodology, and the personal property and evaluation therein involved; and has a specific assigned use; and has a judicial public interest obligation; and has been rendered by a qualified appraiser; and has an adequately detailed property description as of a specific date; and has a rendered value that is supported by the presentation and analysis of relevant market information [Advanced Personal Property Appraisal course, page 79].”
“I just want to know what this is worth.” That might seem like a simple enough question, but the concept that I have to explain more often than any other is that an item has many different values. Before we can assign a value, we must first define the purpose and function of the appraisal. We’ll touch on those in a later post, but the important take away is that there might be a dozen different values for each item.
I’d love to get your questions and comments. You can email me at [email protected].
