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Personal property appraisals in Maine for donations, estate tax, divorce, and probate, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises antiques, jewelry, collectibles, furniture, and fine art across Maine, including Portland, Bangor, and Augusta.
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, MAINE COURTS, LENDERS, INSURERS, AND MORE.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member with 30 years in the trade, from running estate sales and an auction gallery to appraising luxury apparel, furniture, artwork, antiques, and business assets, primarily for IRS tax filings.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member specializing in Asian art, with a Master's from SOAS and a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. Ashley chairs the ISA's Antiques, Furnishings, and Decorative Arts committee and appraises for charitable donation, insurance, and equitable distribution.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
International Society of AppraisersAccredited Member
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsAppraiseItNow appraises antiques, silver, jewelry, clocks, marine items, paintings and whole house contents in Maine for charitable gifts, estate and probate reporting, divorce, and insurance scheduling. Maine houses hold material that has not moved in three generations, and much of the work is separating what carries value from what merely looks old.
Antiques and furniture
Painted country furniture, Federal case pieces and the occasional Shaker survivor are valued on what they are rather than on what a refinished version brings. Where condition caps the number we say so in the same sentence. A Portland dealer's price and an auction result in the same month can sit far apart, and we show which one the conclusion rests on.
Contents and collections
A full house is valued by category, with the pieces carrying real money appraised individually. Heirs get a document they can divide from and a donor gets figures a return can stand on.
One chest of drawers carries three defensible numbers at the same time, depending on who is asking. Naming the definition before the research begins is what keeps a report usable for the purpose it was ordered for. Lewiston heirs, Augusta attorneys and insurers are reading for different things, and a report written for one of them rarely serves the others.
Charitable gifts
A gift of furniture, art or books to a Maine museum or library needs fair market value and the comparable sales behind it. Where the amount crosses the thresholds calling for a qualified appraisal, the report is built to meet them. Books and manuscripts are the ones most often undervalued by the family before we arrive.
Estates and probate
An inventory values property as of the day of death. We fix every figure to that day and keep each comparable dated, so an attorney can pass it across a table without explaining it first.
Division and coverage
Dividing household property takes values that survive argument. Scheduling a ring or a painting takes a replacement figure instead, found in a different market. Maine artwork has its own page.
Maine does not tax what is inside a house, and it lets a small estate pass without an administration. Together those two rules move the valuing of household property out of the assessor's office and into probate, gift and insurance files.
Property tax
Exempt
household furniture, musical instruments, clothing, and a trade's own tools
Title 36 exempts from taxation the household furniture, including television sets and musical instruments, of each person in any one household, together with each person's wearing apparel, farming utensils and the mechanical tools necessary for that person's business. Industrial inventories, stock in trade and farm machinery used in hay and field crops up to a stated market value sit in the same list. No Maine assessor is therefore asking what the dining room holds, and a valuation of household contents is ordered for probate, a gift, a division or a policy instead.
Small estates
$40,000
the whole estate, less liens and encumbrances, that passes on an affidavit
Thirty days after a death, anyone holding the decedent's personal property has to release it to a successor who presents an affidavit stating that the value of the entire estate, wherever located and less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000 as adjusted for inflation, that thirty days have passed, and that no application for a personal representative is pending or has been granted anywhere. Furniture, jewelry, a small boat or a collection can be most of what sits on that line, so the figures put on them decide which road the family is on before anything is filed.
What Maine clients say we are known for
Across 23 published Maine appraisal reviews, every one from a client who paid AppraiseItNow for an appraisal, the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how much research is visible in the report, and how quickly we answer.
AppraiseItNow Inc. is the best company I was lucky to find by accident. I was looking for someone to appraise cabinets for a donation to charity. I asked for multiple referrals, called multiple appraisal services, etc., and no one could help me. I found AppraiseItNow and from the moment I started working with them, they were wonderful! Joe guided me on what I needed to send him, what needed to be done and stayed in touch with me the entire time. Their customer service is OUTSTANDING and a welcome surprise in today’s world where good customer service is an anomaly! They returned an appraisal in a timely manner, it was clear, concise, cost-effective and exactly what I needed. They followed up with me multiple times to ensure that I received it and everything was OK. My CPA is also thrilled to have them as an accredited appraisal service he can use for other clients. I rarely leave reviews, but I could not pass giving them 5 stars and I’d give 10 if possible! THANK YOU JOE AND ALL AT APPRAISEITNOW!!👊🏼
Personal Property Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I used AppraiseItNow for the first time last month and I was extremely pleased with the results. I needed an appraisal done for insurance purposes and the level of detail about each of my antique furniture pieces was thorough and very helpful in my being able to get the highest amount possible from my insurance company for the antique items that were damaged. I could see that they spent time making sure that the information she included was correct and current for my antique furniture items in the current market. The team responded to my emails timely to answer any questions I had. I would highly recommend Appraise It Now to get a thorough and professional appraisal done on antique items. I do intend to use them again for other antique furniture and jewelry that I have. Job well done! 😃🤗
Antique Furniture Appraisal for Insurance Claim
It is a pleasure to work with Joe and his team. They communicate every step along the way and made the process simple for us to have more than 35 firearms appraised. It was all done in a timely manner and the final report is easy to understand. I highly recommend their services.
Gun Appraisal for Probate
I was skeptical at first, but the company exceeded all of my expectations. The team responded quickly to every question, and the service was excellent. They’re now my go to source for my collection. I’ve used them twice already, and I plan to use them several more times.
Firearms Appraisal for Personal Use
Joe made the process to have my piece of furniture appraised extremely easy, efficient and quick. My experience was great and I'd recommend AppraiseItNow to anyone looking for an appraisal.
Furniture Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
I asked AppraiseItNow to value a piece of sports memorabilia for purposes of a charitable donation. The item is rarely sold. Their research unearthed an important recent sale of a similar item, which I had not found previously, and which the first appraiser I used had not found either. AppraiseItNow was a good deal more expensive than the first service, but they crafted a detailed report in which I have much more confidence. They also helped me make sure the correct tax forms are used. Thank you!
Sports Memorabilia Appraisal for Charitable Donation
Given the USPAP-compliant nature of AppraiseItNow’s appraisal reports, we prepare our deliverables for major legal, tax, and financial reporting purposes for individual and commercial clients.
Popular uses of our appraisal reports include:
Through three data streams: completed auction results, active dealer and gallery offerings, and published price guides. Completed sales carry the most weight because they show what buyers actually paid, and the appraiser documents dimensions, materials, maker's marks, production period, and condition so the comparables genuinely match.
Within three months of the personal representative's appointment, listing the decedent's property at fair market value as of death. Maine's Probate Code does not restrict who may value estate personal property, so the representative can engage an independent antiques appraiser to put defensible numbers on the inventory.
Usually the opposite. Original surface, patina, and period-consistent wear are key authenticity indicators, and aggressive refinishing or over-restoration can permanently reduce what collectors will pay. Have the piece appraised in its current state before commissioning any restoration work.
Because insurance scheduling uses retail replacement value, the cost to replace the piece through an appropriate dealer, while estates, donations, and equitable division use fair market value. Both can be correct at the same time; the report just has to state which definition it applies.
