Expertise

Appraisal

The reasons for appraisal include insurance, inheritance, liquidation, and tax avoidance. Art can be an important part of your wealth planning strategy. We help you understand what you have and what you can do with it. Stock portfolio valuation is available at the push of a button. Correctly and Accurately valuing your tangible assets requires a different skill set. With 20 years of experience, we bring the skills you need to make sure that the wealth you have worked hard to create is preserved and secured for your next acquisition, or disposal.

Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) compliant personal property appraisals are required paperwork for the proper valuation of fine art and other non-traditional assets. There are three types of (USPAP) compliant appraisals: Replacement Value appraisals; Fair Market Value appraisals; and Fair Market Value for Estate/IRS Appraisals.

Replacement Value appraisals are used for insurance purposes to determine how much to cover an object on an insurance policy. These appraisals are best done when something is purchased and updated every 6-8 years. They can also be done after something has been damaged, stolen or destroyed. In the case of damage, insurance companies require an appraisal (by an accredited appraiser) to determine what the object’s value is after the damage is done and what it was before.

Fair Market Value appraisals are used for possible resale and occur when a client is interested in finding out what their object would possibly bring in a sale, either at auction or private. These values can be based on timely sales or quicker distress sales, and usually occur out of curiosity or guidance.

Fair Market Value for Estate/IRS planning are the most involved in terms of determining the value of a piece. This is the value the estate/owner would net for selling the appraised object.

The Ruffner Art Advisory has more than 20 years of experience in various areas of the art market and specialize in completing USPAP compliant appraisals. With an academic background centered around research and reading the art market, our team can confidently identify which appraisal is appropriate for your artwork and the best process moving forward. We believe in the power of research and have a keen eye for quality, so you will never have to worry that your piece isn’t being valued properly. Additionally, we know exactly which questions to ask to find the most useful information. We understand that each case is unique and pride ourselves on being exceedingly trustworthy and adept in the artist’s world as well as the world of galleries and auctions.