Fees
Published before you call. Fixed fee agreed in writing before work begins — never an hourly meter.
How fees are set
Three things drive the number: the asset, the intended use, and the volume. Intended use matters more than most people expect — a report written to satisfy the IRS carries requirements a simple insurance schedule does not, and the scope of work differs accordingly.
What follows are honest ranges, not teaser rates. Your written quote is a fixed number within or around them, and it is issued before any work begins.
Where the fee actually goes. Nobody asks, and everybody wonders. An appraisal fee is not payment for an opinion — it is payment for the work that makes the opinion survive someone attacking it.
- Research and comparable evidence. Usually the largest share. Finding defensible sales evidence for a specific item is the job; the number falls out of it.
- Inspection, or examination of your photographs and documentation.
- Writing the report to USPAP standard — scope of work, value definition, methodology, certification, and the qualifications the receiving party requires.
- Keeping and defending the file. The workfile is retained for at least five years, and if the report is challenged, answering that challenge is already paid for.
- Licensing, continuing education, and errors & omissions cover — the things that make the signature worth having.
A cheaper appraisal is almost always cheaper because one of those five was skipped. That is fine right up until the moment the report is relied upon.
Personal Property
Machinery, equipment and business inventory, plus firearms, antiques and full household contents — appraised remotely, worldwide.
| Scope | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| 1 item or lot | $75 – $150 |
| 2–10 items | $125 – $250 |
| 11–50 items | $200 – $400 |
| 50+ items / full contents | quoted per engagement |
Machinery & Equipment
A personal property sub-discipline. Priced separately because equipment carries a data plate, hours, and an installation question that a firearm or a painting does not.
Farm, medical, construction, and shop equipment — desk appraisals worldwide, on-site throughout Arizona.
| Scope | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| Single unit | $150 – $275 |
| 2–10 units | $225 – $350 |
| 11–50 units | $300 – $450 |
| Full facility inventory | quoted per engagement |
Residential Valuation
Single-family, condo, multi-family, manufactured and mobile homes — Arizona-licensed, statewide.
| Scope | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| Standard single family | $450 – $750 |
| Complex / rural / acreage | $750 – $1,200 |
| Multi-family 2–4 unit | $900 – $1,500 |
| Litigation & expert witness | $1,500 – $2,500+ |
Residential Valuation detail →
Business Valuation
Closely held companies and professional practices — engagements accepted worldwide.
| Scope | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship / simple | $2,500 – $5,000 |
| Small business, single entity | $5,000 – $9,000 |
| Professional practice | $7,500 – $12,000 |
| Complex / litigation / multi-entity | $12,000 – $20,000+ |
What is not billed
- The initial consultation and quote — always free
- Questions about a delivered report
- Reasonable clarification for the receiving party — a lender, adjuster, or attorney
What is quoted separately
- Deposition and trial testimony
- Rebuttal analysis of an opposing expert's report
- Rush turnaround
- Travel beyond the Phoenix metro on Arizona real property assignments
- Materially expanded scope after engagement — always re-quoted first, never invoiced after
Volume pricing applies to every category. Per-item cost falls sharply above ten items, and full inventories are quoted per engagement rather than per unit.
Questions about fees
Do you charge for the quote?
No. Consultation and quoting are free, and if your matter does not need a full appraisal we will tell you that rather than sell you one.
Why do you not bill hourly?
Because hourly billing gives the appraiser an incentive that is not aligned with yours, and because you deserve to know the cost before you commit. A fixed fee puts the estimating risk where it belongs.
Does the fee depend on the value you conclude?
Never. Fees contingent on the value reached are prohibited under USPAP and would make the report worthless. The fee is the same whatever the number turns out to be.
What if the assignment turns out to be bigger than expected?
You get a revised written quote before any additional work is performed. You will never receive an invoice larger than the number you agreed to without having approved it first.
What is this likely to cost?
An honest indicative range in three clicks. It is a range, not a quote — the written quote is a fixed number and it is free.
1 What needs appraising?
2 What is the appraisal for?
3 How much of it is there?
Quoting is free and carries no obligation. Fees are never contingent on the value concluded — that is prohibited under USPAP.
Ready for a number you can defend?
Tell us what you have and what it's for. You get a fixed written quote — never an hourly meter, never a sales call.
What the work actually looks like
Real assignments, client details removed — what each engagement actually turned on, rather than how it felt.
A house, a workshop of machine tools, a forty-year firearms collection and a stake in the family company — four disciplines that three appraisers had only partly covered. One engagement, one effective date, one set of assumptions.
A donation the regulations would have aggregated past the appraisal threshold, which the donor had assessed item by item. One qualified appraisal covering the group, itemized, signed inside the window the regulations allow.
An opposing report whose number was not obviously wrong — which is what made it dangerous. It failed on its own certification, and was answered section by section with an independent valuation to the correct definition of value.