NY Times on Personal Property Appraising

 Last week in a special section on wealth the NY Times reported on the need for appraisal and tracking the value of collections.  The article notes that appraisers are not licensed but did state most reputable appraisers belong to one of the three major personal property organizations, ASA, AAA and ISA.  The article also hot linked to each of the three organizations websites.  Some great promotions and publicity for appraisals in general and specifically for the three major persona property groups.

The article is a good one to print out and use when dealing with clients who are not sure they should make the investment to have a collection properly apprasied by a qualified appraiser.

The NY Times reports on personal property appraising

Expertise is especially important with appraisals that are submitted for tax purposes, because the Internal Revenue Service has detailed requirements for appraisals submitted as documentation for donations or estate tax calculations. The I.R.S. requires a written appraisal by a qualified appraiser for any deduction taken on items valued at more than $5,000.

The agency’s own appraisal staff reviews valuations, and some appraisals are subject to further review by its Art Advisory Panel, a group of 25 volunteer experts. The panel meets periodically to review appraisals and may decide they are too high (or, in the case of estate tax valuations, too low). Last year, the panel reviewed 475 items valued by taxpayers at a total of nearly $235 million, and recommended adjustments on more than half, according to its 2010 report.

Arthur Fleischer, a New York lawyer and arts patron whose collection includes prints by the artist Elizabeth Murray and images by the Dutch photographer Hellen van Meene, said he didn’t spend much time worrying about the value of his collection because his motivation was not to make money. When he has made gifts to museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, he has worked with the appraisal service of the Art Dealers Association of America, for the documentation the I.R.S. requires. “I know from my experience in the art world,” he said, “that they’re a well thought of, responsible and reliable organization.”

Susan L. Brundage, the director of that group’s service, said it focused primarily on appraisals of fine art for tax purposes. It draws on the records of its member dealers, she said, to supplement data on prices for works sold at public auction.

The appraiser will often — but not always — examine an item or collection physically to determine its condition, before conducting research into previous sales of similar works to determine a value. Personally examining an object allows for a thorough assessment of its condition, but sometimes appraisals are done from photographs and other documentation although that must be disclosed on the appraisal report.

To read the full NY Times article, click HERE.