Trinket or Treasure: Appraisals – Who, what, when, where, and why?

This month I thought I would talk about some of the questions I regularly get asked about working as a personal property appraiser. One that I get a lot  is “When do I need an appraiser?” 

There are many reasons to have an appraisal done but the most common ones are for insurance and estate planning or estate distribution.  

If you have individual items or collections that are worth more than ten thousand dollars you should probably have them insured and professionally appraised. That is your best protection and will make the claim process go much easier in the event of a disaster.  

Estate planning is also an important part of my job. A lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea but I can tell you from experience how much trouble this can save your heirs. I also do many equitable distribution appraisals to evenly split up estates amongst the heirs after the fact.  This often goes fine but it puts a lot of responsibility on the executor. 

I am sometimes brought in because siblings or other relatives are squabbling over who gets what and it can cause real divisions in families. It is worth it to have an impartial party at least take a look at your belongings and point out any items of value beforehand so you can begin to make a plan. 

I encourage families to participate in the evaluation process together.  It is a great opportunity to share family stories and pass on the history of your heirlooms that give them real value.

The next question I get is, “How do I know what to look for in an appraiser?” 

I am what is referred to as a qualified, independent appraiser and that is what you want to find.  Someone who has no financial interest in your items and will provide an unbiased valuation of your belongings. 

Unlike real estate there is no license for personal property appraisers. What we do have is the Unified Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice or USPAP, a set of accepted professional and ethical guidelines. Becoming USPAP compliant involves taking a 15 hour course on applying the standards and passing a comprehensive exam followed by regular update courses to retain compliance.  

Any qualified appraiser will be compliant with USPAP. As of 2018 the IRS won’t even accept charitable donation appraisals that don’t meet the criteria but many insurers still do. You want a USPAP appraisal to protect your things because its high standards will stand up to scrutiny should you need to justify a claim. 

It is also good to find someone who is a member of a professional association such as the Appraisers Association of America (AAA) or the American Society of Appraisers (ASA). These organizations require a high level of experience and education for membership and continuing education to maintain it. 

I completed a professional certificate program in appraisal studies at NYU and I am an associate member of the AAA currently working on achieving full accreditation. You can get matched up with an appraiser on one of these organizations’ websites based on field of expertise or location but, to my knowledge, I am the only independent, qualified appraiser for general personal property between Rochester and Albany.

Another thing that people want to know is “How did you start doing this?” For me it can all be traced back to a box of hand me down comic books I got from my cousin when I was 8 or 9 years old. 

Stacks of well read issues from the early 70’s ranging from the hijinx of Archie and Jughead to the adventures of Superman and, my favorite, a short lived DC comic called PREZ, the story of Prez Rikard, the first teen President of the United States who fights vampires and werewolves alongside his Native American FBI Director, Free Eagle. 

I was a kid who had trouble paying attention in school and was branded a “Dreamer” but these stories grabbed me and sparked something in my imagination that began a lifelong interest in art and literature. 

Growing up in Buffalo was a great experience in itself. People tend to associate Buffalo with snow, wings and the Bills but it is awash in great art, architecture and history. 

In my neighborhood I could walk along the Olmstead Parkway System past several Frank Lloyd Wright houses and the spot where President McKinley was assassinated to arrive at the Albright Knox Art Gallery, home to one of the greatest collections of 20th century art in the world.  

Then, in my 20’s I got a job in a comic books store, still the best job I ever had. It was there I learned about ways to curate, catalog and price collections. Around this time eBay launched and I began buying and selling comics and other collectables with online auctions. 

I got married in 2001 and my wife and I moved to the Ithaca area where she had gotten a job as an occupational therapist. I tried for several years to make use of my college degree in broadcasting but I kept finding myself calling back to working with comics, art, books and other items of interest. 

In recent years I worked with several area auction houses and other estate sale services and I noticed there was a gap. While most of these companies are reputable and reliable, I did hear from a lot of people who had been taken advantage of, often at a time of great vulnerability, and I realized there wasn’t anyone out there specifically looking out for them. 

That led me to find that I could complete the two year long AAA program at NYU all in one summer intensive and here we are nearly eight years later.

Let me know if you have any questions for me or items you would like me to look at.  

Steven Daly is an qualified, independent, personal property appraiser.  He can be reached at steven@ithacavintage.com. Visit www.Ithacavintage.com for more information.