Category: The Appraiser’s Notebook

What is USPAP…and why should I Care?

Every assignment provides us with a new opportunity to be a better appraiser. Whether or not you choose to write appraisals in compliance with USPAP, as appraisers, we should share the same desire to act ethically and competently to protect the public’s trust in the profession we love.

Estate Tax Valuation Spelunking

Taxable events can sometime give rise for the need of an appraisal. But what should we consider before accepting the assignment? There is more than Federal law that can dictate how to proceed. Is the value information stated or certified? Who says distribution needs to be equitable?

Insurance: No Profit – No Loss

Barron’s Dictionary of Insurance Terms defines indemnity as, “Compensation for loss. In a property and casualty contract, the objective is to restore an insured to the same financial position after the loss. But the insured should not be able to profit by damage or destruction of property, nor should the insured be in a worse financial position after loss.”2 In essence, the insured is not to make a profit or sustain a loss but to break even in the event of casualty loss.

Price Guides – Friend or Foe?

How convenient it is to use a price guide to retrieve prices for diamonds and colored stones. Merely adding a markup to determine a value seems too easy. Some gurus of valuation theory are emphatic that price guides should be banned. Other experts embrace price guides as a key part of the process.