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Personal property appraisals in Vermont for donations, estate tax, divorce, and probate, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises antiques, jewelry, fine art, collectibles, and household contents across Vermont, including Burlington, Montpelier, and Rutland.
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, VERMONT 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 personal property in Vermont for probate inventories, charitable gifts, insurance schedules and the division of property in a divorce. Vermont households hold a lot of old things that arrived through families rather than dealers: country furniture, pewter and silver, prints, estate jewelry and memorabilia kept for decades. Each is valued in the market that would actually take it, and the report names that market.
Probate
A Vermont inventory lists property item by item at its value on the date of death, so a household is read as separate lots rather than one sum, and each figure rests on completed sales of like pieces.
Charitable gifts
A donated piece is reported at what it would have sold for on the day it was given. We cite the sales behind that number and spell out the adjustments for maker, period and condition.
Insurance
Covering jewelry or a collection calls for what replacement would cost at retail, which normally lands above a probate or donation figure for the same object. Whichever standard the use requires is the one named in the report.
Two things decide a Vermont figure more than an object's age does: which room would actually sell it, and what has been done to it since it was made. Both are read from the piece and its paperwork together.
The market
Country furniture, pewter and farm tools often change hands regionally, so the evidence comes from New England salerooms rather than a national list. Jewelry, firearms and memorabilia travel further, and auction records carry the weight there.
Condition and papers
A refinished surface, a replaced clasp, a trimmed print or a repaired seam each change the result, and so does a clear line of previous owners. We write only what the marks and receipts actually support. Fine art in the same household is handled in our Vermont art work.
Vermont's probate rules reach personal property directly. One decides whether an estate can take the simplified route at all, the other changes the date values are taken as of, and both are settled before anything is filed.
Small estates
$45,000
The ceiling for a Vermont small estate
Vermont allows an estate to be settled on the simplified small estate track when its fair market value is not more than $45,000 and it consists entirely of personal property, with a time share estate the one exception. Because no real estate may be involved, the whole threshold question turns on what the furniture, jewelry, vehicles and collections are worth. If the estate is later found to have been worth more than that at the decedent's death, the fiduciary has to petition the court to move it onto the regular administration rules, which is why a supported figure is worth having at the start rather than after.
Guardianships
Date of appointment
The value date on a Vermont guardianship inventory
Vermont uses a single inventory form for estates, trusts and guardianships, and the date it values property as of is not the same on all three. For a decedent's estate the instruction is fair market value as of the date of death; for every other case it is the value as of the date of the fiduciary's appointment. The same form requires that where an appraiser is used, the name and address of each appraiser and the items appraised be attached to the inventory, so the figures and their author travel together into the court file.
What Vermont clients say we are known for
Across 23 published Vermont 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:
For autographed items it is often the single largest driver of price differences. Third party certification from PSA/DNA, JSA, or Beckett is frequently a prerequisite for serious market value, and an uncertified signature may trade at a small fraction of a certified example. We factor certification status directly into the comparable sales we select.
No, professionals treat asking prices and book values as secondary at best. Credible memorabilia value rests on realized transactions: recent auction results and documented private sales for comparable items in comparable grades. A card or jersey listed at $10,000 that never sells tells you little about what a Vermont collection would actually bring.
Within 60 days after appointment. Under 14 V.S.A. § 1051 the executor or administrator prepares an inventory of the property the decedent owned at death, states each item's fair market value as of the date of death, and files the original with the Probate Division of the Superior Court on the Judiciary's Inventory form (700-00030). The court may extend that time for good cause. Collections with meaningful value are typically supported by a professional appraisal so the inventory values hold up through the accounting stage.
Documentation tying the item to specific games, ideally photo-matching that lines up unique wear patterns with game imagery, supported by team or league letters. Game-used equipment commands a premium over issued or replica pieces only when that chain of evidence holds, so we weigh the documentation as heavily as the item itself when selecting comparable sales for a Vermont collection.
