Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with appraisal

Could you tell me about how much these diamond earrings are worth? More inside...

picapica — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:32:49 -0800

Could you tell me about how much these diamond earrings are worth? More inside... I would like to find out about how much these diamond earrings are worth, but I don't need an exact amount. Can anyone help me with this?

Relevant information:
-2 diamond earrings, purchased for $600.00 in 1975
-14k white gold setting
-.96 point (This I don't quite understand. On the receipt it says ".96 Point", but on another tag it says "96 TW".)

Thank you!!

How does one get a job as a residential property appraiser for a county or local government?

st starseed — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:08:33 -0800

How does one get a job as a residential property appraiser for a county or local government?

WHo benefits from an over appraised house?

will wait 4 tanjents — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:51:59 -0800

Buying my first house: Who benefits from the over appraisal? I have a feeling our house was over appraised and I cannot figure out why this would be done and yes I have googled.

It was appraised for $40,000 more than the selling price.
I am in the United States.
Any information - relevant or not will be most appreciated.

Should I keep quiet about an appraisal error that's possibily in my favor?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:47:35 -0800

I'm buying a house, and the bank appraisal came back 1-2% lower than the purchase price, so I renegotiated with the seller, and had them lower the price to the appraised value. Today I was looking over the appraisal, and found an error. What to do? The square footage on the appraisal is about the same as what the tax records say, but this 5 bedroom house has been appraised as 4 bedroom house. In the floor plan that the appraiser drew out, two bedrooms have been combined into one.

Should this make any difference in the appraised value? If all parties have a copy of this appraisal, the paperwork for the price reduction has already been signed, and the closing date is fast approaching, is there any reason for me to speak up about this error?

(email askmesecretly@gmail.com for any questions)

Bad appraisal?

ecorrocio — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:34:35 -0800

Getting a refi. Appraiser valued our house lower than we feel it should be. Our position is strong, but will this be a problem later? We are refinancing our home to get a lower rate. The appraiser valued our home at significantly lower than we believe the house is worth. It should not affect our chances of getting the refi, because we have plenty of equity and good credit.

But, I'm wondering if this will be a problem later - in a number of years if we decide to sell. Houses not as nice, and not as big as ours are consistently selling for more than the valuation this guy put on ours. Since this is a refi, we have not staged the house, or prepared it as we would if we were selling, so - yes, we need new carpet, and a few fixes here and there, but still it's a pretty nice place.

So, two, three, ten years from now when we decide to sell... is this an issue?

Seattle-area antique furniture appraiser?

trinity8-director — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:21:09 -0800

Seattle-area antique furniture appraiser? Can you recommend an antique furniture appraiser in the Seattle area (eastside preferred)? This would be for insurance purposes. Thanks!

Bonus question: ballpark costs for appraisal service on a full dinning set (table, chairs, china cupboard, sideboard)? I have zero idea what to expect this to cost.

Thanks!

PMI permit screwup?

GardenGal — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:17:15 -0800

House appraisers, building permit people, and DIYers: Just how badly did I screw us up? So we were all set to get our house appraised - we're not moving, but if our value has gone up a tiny bit then our PMI gets taken off our mortgage, saving us about $100/month.

I've done some substantial improvements/renovations to the place, including building an interior, non-load-bearing wall to divide our 10x20' office into two separate 10x10' rooms (I had an electrician friend do the wiring for me). I never got a permit to put up the wall because my dad (an architect) assured me that it didn't really matter since it was an interior wall and I wouldn't get caught.

Except that now I've googled how to prepare for an appraisal, and in a couple places found mention of needing to present permits for changes done if the house no longer matches the original records. Oops. Since our house was originally two bedroom and now it's three, I assume this is a problem.

So what's going to happen to us? I don't want to spend $400 for an appraisal only to have the appraiser decide that he can't give us an answer since we didn't have a permit. Or get reported or something and have to pay a huge fine. Anyone have experience with this kind of situation?

Every month I postpone the appraisal it costs us a potential $100, but I find myself very nervous about proceeding. What should we do?

How can I sell a collection of gemstones?

wingless_angel — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:46:14 -0800

My husband inherited his late father's gemstone collection 6 years ago, and we want to know how to sell it. Thousands of rocks and stones are in the collection, some valuable, some not. Some are labelled, some not. Should we ask/pay for an appraiser to come to the house and take a look? Where would I find an appraiser? Can we sell them as a job lot? I'm worried about getting ripped off since we have no skills in this trade ourselves. How hard would it be to sell individual pieces on eBay? (We're in Australia).

This collection could potentially be a down payment on a house for us, so if we are going to sell it, we want to do it right.

How do I figure out how much a rubbing of Shakespeare's grave is worth?

canine epigram — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:05:48 -0800

I have a rubbing from Shakespeare's grave slab. I'm trying to figure out if it is potentially worth enough to bother with an appraisal ($150 I think) or just guess a price and sell it. I bought it in an antique store going out of business, and lo, these many years later, am no longer as enamored of it as it was. Since we're moving, it's not a bad time to de-clutter, and I'm looking to get rid of it. My wife did some poking around to see what an appraisal would cost, and it's pricey.

I've done some googling, and established that it looks like a rubbing from his grave stone as the seller maintained, but have no way of knowing for sure. I've heard that you could once take rubbings of the stone, but can do so no longer.

How could I figure out more cheaply whether this is worth anything at all? Or is it worth the expense?

One-stop Book Repair Shop

ikahime — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:24:07 -0800

I'm trying to cover all my bases for my budding book repair business. I'm sure in the process people will be asking me to appraise their books. For my own collection, I've found it adequate to use the usual online suspects, such as Abebooks, alibris, vialibri, amazon, ebay, etc. What more can I do to educate myself on this process? Are there formal classes I should be looking into? Also, when providing this service, what is the standard fee, or is there one? Should I just charge my hourly rate, but for research instead of conservation work?

Metafilter, price my sideboard

shothotbot — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:21:07 -0800

I (think I) need a furniture appraiser in New York City. I need to set a price on large art deco piece of furniture. I think it is original but may be a reproduction. This is in New York City and needs to be done in the next few weeks. I guess I need someone to come in and appraise it. Any recommendations? Any idea how much the appraisal will cost?

Help me sell the family jewels.

spitbull — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:32:52 -0800

(Posted for a friend:) Appraising and selling jewelry in NYC . . . My siblings and I inherited 10 pieces of jewelry which we'd never wear. The jewelry (gold, pearls and a diamond) was appraised for insurance in 1980 and valued at $24K. Is it worth getting a second appraisal from an outside party before dealing with potential buyers? The original appraiser suggested that the value would be about the same today and thought we shouldn't waste money on another appraisal. But because of tax implications doesn't it make sense to get a written fair market value appraisal first--which would help ensure we don't get ripped off? Also, any suggestions for buyers of silver objects (serving plates/utensils) and coins in New York City would be appreciated. I don't want to go the e-bay route but would love to free up my closet space.

I was left an antique clock by my grandmother. How do I get a reliable appraisal?

SpacemanStix — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:26:14 -0800

My grandmother left me a clock that our family has very little information about, other than it was an antique that was passed down from her mother. I've done some searching online, but I haven't found anything that seems like a good contact. It's rather heavy, so an initial appraisal would have to be done via pictures, if this is possible. Is there anyone who can give me some good advice on how to go about this, and how to know if I've made a contact with someone who actually knows what they are talking about? Any direct contacts to knowledgeable appraisers would be especially appreciated.

How much should I offer for the building I live and work in?

(bb|[^b]{2}) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:34:55 -0800

I live and work in the same building, which I lease from an absentee landlord who does little more than collect the rent. Over the years, my business has become quite prominent and is quickly outgrowing the space. I now have the means to buy the building from my landlord, but need advice on making the initial offer. Much more pertinent, specific info inside. As far as value goes, here's the latest deed info from the assessor's office:

Residential Appraised Value - $62,000
Residential Assessed Value - $12,000
Commercial Appraised Value - $168,000
Commercial Assessed Value - $54,000
Total Appraised Value - $230,000
Total Assessed Value - $66,000

I rounded the numbers accordingly. As for the location, it's in a revitalized section of a Mid-Western city's downtown (population 500k). Downtown real estate prices have ballooned over the last decade, but leveled off in the last couple years.

I'd like to expand the building into the parking lot to the West, which I'd say is itself worth $75k.

The previous owner purchased the building and parking lot in 2001 for $120k, and sold it for $200k two years ago. Our current landlord has not done improvements to our building, or any of the others he purchased nearby. I have the feeling that he's willing to sell, if the price is right (as is always the case).

The building is broken up into 3200 square feet of commercial space on the first floor (which I lease), and three lofts on the second floor (I live in one). The only real leverage I have in negotiating a price is that the first floor has been completely customized for my business, and if I were to leave, the cost of whiteboxing it for the next tenant would be very expensive. I'm more than half way through a five year lease, and I think it's time to belly up to the table.

So, any ballpark estimates on what you think I should offer? I know there are other variables that need to be considered, but based on the initial values I mentioned, what do you think a fair price would be? Has anyone gone through a similar situation, and have tips to share?

Help me survive an appraisal at work

slimeline — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 03:06:54 -0800

Tomorrow I have my annual appraisal with the deputy head of the department at the Uni. where I work. This is not my first time, as I been in this job for several years, but this time I am looking for advice on how to make this into a meaningful and useful meeting instead of the usual box-ticking exercise. Also, what is the best way to answer the standard questions they ask such as: "What were your most significant achievements since the last interview?" Other questions I have to answer ahead of the meeting are: "What aspect of the job gave you the most satisfaction since the last interview?" and "What has caused you most difficulty?"
My main problem is that I know from past experience that whatever is said in the appraisal has very little effect on the year ahead, all these targets and objectives seem very meaningless to me at the moment. So it is hard to shake off a cynical and negative approach to the whole thing, but at the same time I definitely don't want to come across in the appraisal as someone negative and uncooperative. So how can I muster a positive outlook and make the most of the opportunity?
Thanks fellow appraisees / appraisers. Yours truly, Slimeline

Antique Chinese Ink Stone

ducksauce — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 08:36:36 -0800

Where can I find an appraiser in or near New York City for this antique Chinese ink stone? This ink stone belongs to my girlfriend's family and we have no idea how much it is worth. I have been told that there is a good chance it is valuable, and I know that it is very old, but I do not know what steps to take to find out particulars. I know that there is a huge world of antiques commerce out there and I do not trust my google skills or the yellow pages to lead me to the right places. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Art appraisal:

ewkpates — Tue, 22 May 2007 06:50:45 -0800

Art appraisal: Where to go? Who to trust? Paintings from India, Africa... carpets... masks. Is there any point in trying to get one person to appraise it all? Less than 20 pieces in total, but packing it up would not be fun.

Does this look like mortgage fraud?

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:50:56 -0800

Mortgage fraud/appraisal fraud question. Does the following transaction look suspicious? Someone I know owned a house in a very depressed urban neighborhood in a big U.S. city. They bought it as an investment and, at the time they sold it, it was appraised at approximately $30,000. The person who purchased the home from them, for around $30,000, was an investor who turned around and sold the property two or three days later for $65,000. The house was almost certainly not worth that amount if you look at comparable sales in the neighborhood.

The warranty deed (for the $65,000 sale) does not refer to any lenders so it is not apparent how the $65,000 sale was financed. There is a signature of an appraiser on the warranty deed (certifying that the sale price is equal to or higher than what the house would have be sold for on the open market), and upon checking the records of appraiser licenses, it turns out that his appraiser license had been expired for several years (that's probably not relevant to answering this question, but I thought I would mention it).

For reasons that are unimportant here, I'm trying to help my acquaintance figure out if the person who bought their property is engaged in any kind of fraud.

I have three questions:

(1) Does this transaction look fishy?

(2) Whether it does or doesn't look fishy, what things in the transaction I have described lead you to your conclusion?

(3) If it looks fishy, what avenues should I follow to confirm whether or not there's some kind of fraud going on here? I'm planning to call the person who is on record as having purchased the house for $65,000, but I want to make sure I am prepared to ask the right questions.

(I am posting this anonymously because some people I work with know that I post to Metafilter, and my acquaintance is someone I know from work, and this needs to be handled with discretion.)

Is our domain a golden ticket?

miagaille — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 17:27:40 -0800

This (somewhat shady-seeming) automated domain appraiser claims that our domain is worth over US$150,000. What does that translate to in real money? We love our domain name (3e.org), but if there were truly someone out there willing to shell out a hundred fifty grand for it, we could probably get used to the idea of parting ways. But... there's appraisal price, and there's actually finding a buyer willing to pay. Does anyone know what the market is really like for a very short but meaningless domain name like this? Is that kind of money really in the cards?

Fitty Cent

spicynuts — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 11:57:24 -0800

Coin collections - what is the best way to find a fair and honest appraisal for about a hundred coins? My mom and I finally got around to looking at the coins stored in a safe deposit box by my grandfather. Mostly it consists of a crap load of Kennedy half dollars, silver dollars, wheat pennies, early 1900s pennies, nickels and dimes and a bunch of random oddities like a 1780s George III (I think) English coin. From my experience as a kid with coin dealers I recall that it can be quite a shady and dishonest business. I'm not sure if that has changed at all since the late 70s. Does anyone have suggestions as to how to get a straigthforward appraisal in the New York City of Hudson Valley area? Are there good websites for this kind of thing?

What's the best way to sell antique jewelry (NOT ebay)

polexxia — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 10:05:55 -0800

I currently live in Utah, and my mother is sending me my great-grandmother's jewelry for me to sell as a way to help subsidize my move to California. I've sold contemporary jewelry in pawn shops before, but I think that with these pieces being from the 20s, I should be able to get more than "weight of gold"....what is the best way to go about selling these? FWIW, I live in Ogden, Utah. I don't know if I would be better off going into a jewelry store, finding an auction appraiser-type person or WHAT, so ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated. I don't expect I'll make a HUGE amount out of this, but I do want to make as much as I CAN

How to find the value of old books?

atom128 — Fri, 05 May 2006 09:45:41 -0800

I am looking for a website where I can look up the value of old books. I work for a guy who does a lot of appraisals and I've been put in charge of figuring out the value of a bunch of antique books. Ideally I am looking for a site where I can put in the title, author, publisher, and year printed and get a fair market quote for it. Pay sites are okay, as long as they're not insanely expensive. I've tried googling but I haven't found anything. Thanks in advance!

Getting the most for my domain

adamrice — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 12:03:53 -0800

I have a domain name, and someone has made a pretty serious offer on it. I know there are domain-name appraisers out there, and I'm wondering if any one in particular is considered most reliable—I don't want to leave money on the table if I can avoid it. Those who are curious can find out the domain name by checking my MeFi profile. I've had the domain name since '94, and I'm in no hurry to give it up, but the money on offer is pretty significant.

Overblown appraisal?

hodyoaten — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 10:14:01 -0800

I can't seem to sell a high value piece of furniture that got aired on Antiques Roadshow -- what's the deal? Here's the scoop: The item (basically a Rube Golbergesque piece of furniture from the Samuel Morse family) was appraised by the Keno Brothers of Sotheby's for $20,000. This appraisal actually made it to air on Antiques Roadshow and was a 5-minute show-opener.

We have run the item twice on eBay, once back in August and again at the same time the show was aired (even with an mpeg of the broadcast added to the auction). We got about 15 watchers but no bids on either auction! We started at $8000 with no reserve, did a good writeup, paid attention to keywords and category, put good photos, and so forth. One guy contacted us on e-mail outside of eBay and tried offering $4000.

I'm thinking either (1) Sotheby's appraisal is a crock, or (2) eBay is the wrong venue for selling antiques. Any thoughts?

SHould i buy this laptop??

flipmiester99 — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:17:42 -0800

LaptopFilter: A buddy of mine is selling his IBM ThinkPad T23 for $400 dollars. Here are the specs: P3 1.13ghz 60gb(5400) 1024MB ram CDRW-DVD 14.1 Display Docking Station Also has a PCMCIA WIFI card I want a laptop really bad and this seems to be a good deal, what do you think? Should i buy this? BTW..This will be used for web browsing and business applications. No graphic applications or gaming. Laptop...Should i buy? Is it a good deal?