Divorce is never easy. If your divorce involves a business, it’s even more complex. We’ve worked with many attorneys and business owners to provide appraisals for divorces, some more amiable than others. One thing that all of these situations have in common is that by the time our appraisal firm is called in, the divorce…Read More
Successful Acquisitions include Equipment Appraisals
The headline “Common Mistake for Sellers” caught my eye in a recent article about acquisitions in the printing industries’ Printing Impressions: Common Mistake for Sellers Sellers almost invariably overestimate the value of their equipment, according to Hahn. The only way to get an accurate estimate, he adds, is through a professional, industry-specific equipment appraisal, the results…Read More
Equipment Fire Loss: Compiling a List for Insurance Claims
Compiling a List for Insurance Claims Devastating fires in the Napa, Sonoma and Santa Rosa areas have burned thousands of homes, businesses, and other structures. In the wake of the damage, fire loss claims are inevitable. It’s not always an easy process to assess what’s been lost, especially in the midst of sometimes overwhelming grief…Read More
Maxxforce Engines: Appraising Value for Litigation
Update: In January 2020, the Navistar MaxxForce engine class-action settlement finalized at $135 million. We are not available to appraise individual trucks. We suggest owner/operators find an attorney to assist with individual claims. In 2017 an Arkansas trucking company became the latest to file a complaint against Navistar in federal court, arising out of the…Read More
Deconstructing Daubert on the Art of Appraisal
Appraisers frequently refer to what they do as an “art.” And in fact, the word “art” features prominently in the title of a book on appraisal review published by a major appraisal organization. But the practice of referring to appraisals and appraisal review as an “art” can be problematic, especially when we’re providing appraisals to…Read More
Wildland Fire Litigation Conference: A Report
Several years ago while serving as equipment appraisal expert witness for the Ophir Fire, I discovered the Wildland Fire Litigation Conference and put it on my appraisal bucket list. Just this year, my schedule finally allowed me to attend the conference. In the intervening years, I’ve done many equipment appraisals related to insurance loss claims,…Read More
Gauging Competency in Appraisal Review
While gauging competency in appraisal review is similar to using a limit gauge in order to determine whether a part is within prescribed limits of tolerance, it’s not, of course, that simple. An appraiser’s competency depends on a number of factors, ranging from experience with the equipment and its market to the intended use of…Read More
Compelling Evidence for Property Tax Appeal
A county Board of Equalization in Washington state recently examined one of my equipment appraisal reports in an on-going tax appeal case. The report had been originally submitted to the county assessor, who dismissed it, citing … the statement by the appraiser that the purpose of the appraisal is to assist with an ad valorem tax…Read More
Case Study: Inventory Fire Loss
Join us Friday, Nov 10, 2017, 4:00pm to 5:00pm at Caruso’s in The Westin St Francis, Union Square in San Francisco, CA, when ASA equipment appraiser, Jack Young, ASA, CPA, will be available to answer your questions about the importance of independent, defensible and USPAP compliant equipment appraisals for in fire litigation. Click here for more information &…Read More
Factors in Appraising for Fire Loss or Theft
How do we appraise equipment that’s been destroyed or stolen? Of course we hope for good records — photos, equipment lists, maintenance records — but rarely are those available. Often whatever records might have existed have been lost in the same fire that destroyed the equipment. In most of the fire cases we’ve been called…Read More
Appraisal Review: Determining Whether an Appraisal is Credible
Appraisal review raises the bar on appraisal reports by providing professional, expert review of how well the report aligns with standards of appraisal practice, including the ability of the intended user to understand the report. Appraisal review, as discussed in a previous post, is a standardized methodology that provides guidelines for adjudging the overall quality of…Read More
The Financial Risks of Flawed Appraisals
A previous post introduced the five qualities of a credible appraisal, and in a perfect world, the equipment appraisal report you’re basing financial decisions on would always adequately address those USPAP-specified qualities. The fact is though, that in this imperfect world many equipment appraisal reports don’t meet the basic requirements of completeness, accuracy, adequacy, relevance,…Read More