Personal Property Appraisals
Machinery, equipment, business inventory, firearms, antiques and household contents — appraised for bankruptcy schedules, estate settlement, divorce division, IRS charitable donation, insurance and litigation, to the evidentiary standard the receiving party actually requires.
Tell us what you’ve got.
Personal property is everything that is not real estate. Fixed fee from $75, written back the same day and always within one business day. Report delivered in 5–10 business days from the point we have complete information — and if that date is going to move you hear it from us first, not after it passes.
Machinery & Equipment
A tractor, a CNC cell, an imaging suite or a whole facility inventory is personal property too, and it is usually worth more than everything else in the estate combined. Same appraiser, same standard, its own schedule of comparables.
Collections & household contents
Also personal property, and handled the same way — one engagement, one effective date, one set of assumptions.
A manufactured or mobile home that is not affixed is personal property — chattel — and is appraised as such. Once it is affixed and titled to the land it becomes real property and moves to the residential side. Which one it is changes the assignment, not just the wording. Manufactured & mobile homes →
Both turn up constantly inside estates and household contents, and both are handled as part of that work — identified, described, and scheduled. But a diamond needs a gemological examination and a significant painting needs an authentication trail, and neither is honestly done from photographs. Where a piece carries enough value to matter, it goes to a specialist gemologist or art appraiser and their finding is incorporated into the report, under their name. Jewelry → Fine art →
Personal property valuation is not a state-licensed activity. These assignments are performed as desk appraisals from photographs and documentation, which means NextPhase accepts them anywhere in the United States and internationally.
Personal Property we appraise
- Machinery & Equipment
- Inventory & Stock in Trade
- Firearms & Gun Collections
- Antiques & Furniture
- Sports Cards & Memorabilia
- Musical Instruments
- Household Contents
Not listed? Ask. This is what comes up most, not an exhaustive list.
To quote your assignment
- Photographs of each item or lot, including maker's marks and serial numbers
- Any receipts, prior appraisals, certificates, or provenance you hold
- Approximate acquisition date and price, if known
- The name of the party who will receive the report
What is the appraisal for?
Intended use sets the value standard, the report format, and the fee. The scope changes more than most people expect.
Personal Property — from $75
Fixed fee agreed in writing before any work begins.
| 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 |
Common questions
Can you appraise items outside Arizona?
Yes — anywhere in the world. Personal property valuation is not a state-licensed activity, and these assignments are performed as desk appraisals from photographs and documentation. Clients across the country and overseas are routine.
Do you have to see the items in person?
Usually not. A well-documented set of photographs, marks, and serial numbers supports a credible conclusion for most personal property. Disputed matters and very high-value single items sometimes warrant inspection, and we will tell you before you commit to anything.
Can you appraise a single item?
Yes. Single-item assignments are common for charitable donation and insurance scheduling. Per-item cost falls sharply as the count rises.
Will the IRS accept the report?
Reports prepared for charitable donation are written to satisfy the qualified appraisal and qualified appraiser requirements under IRS regulations, including everything required for Form 8283. The appraiser declaration is completed and signed as part of the assignment.
Do you buy anything you appraise?
No, and we never will. An appraiser who is also a buyer has an interest in your number being low. That conflict is precisely what makes a report indefensible.
Personal Property appraisals nationwide
AlabamaAlaskaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentucky
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.