The value of an appraisal is in the analysis, not the site visit. Here's why desktop appraisals are a better fit for date-of-death valuations.
You lived in the home, managed the trust, or settled the estate. You know the property's condition, upgrades, and layout better than any appraiser walking through for 30 minutes.
In a traditional appraisal, the appraiser spends a brief visit measuring rooms and photographing the property. For a date-of-death appraisal, you can provide this same information — often with greater accuracy, since you know the property's history and condition at the time of death.
Modern smartphone photos provide the same visual documentation an appraiser would capture during an inspection. Exterior, interior, kitchen, bathrooms, and any notable features or updates — all submitted on your schedule, not during a narrow appointment window.
Here's what most people don't realize: appraisers never physically inspect the comparable sales used to value your property. Every comp is analyzed remotely — always.
Whether an appraisal is "traditional" or "desktop," the appraiser selects comparable sales from MLS data, public records, and market databases. They analyze listing photos, property records, and sales data — all from their desk.
The analytical core of every appraisal — selecting, verifying, and adjusting comparable sales — is identical regardless of whether the appraiser physically visited the subject property. The desktop approach simply extends this same remote methodology to the subject property as well.
USPAP requires geographic competency — the ability to produce a credible appraisal in a given market. This is a research standard, not a proximity requirement.
A competent appraiser develops geographic knowledge through MLS access, public records, market trend analysis, and local data sources. Twenty years and 7,000 appraisals across California means deep familiarity with regional markets, micro-neighborhoods, and local valuation factors.
If a highway, power line, school district boundary, or flood zone affects property values, it shows up in the sales data. Appraisers don't discover value impacts by driving past them — they quantify them by analyzing how the market responds.
If something about the property's condition, quality, or features is misrepresented or misunderstood, the appraisal is revised at no additional cost.
Desktop appraisals rely on the information you provide. If a detail is wrong — square footage was off, a renovation wasn't mentioned, or the condition description doesn't match reality — we correct the appraisal. This revision assurance means you're never penalized for an honest mistake in your property description.
This is a safeguard that traditional appraisals don't typically offer, since the appraiser's own inspection is considered final.
Date-of-death appraisals are inherently retrospective — we have prepared valuations dating back more than 40 years. The property's current condition doesn't matter — what matters is its condition on the date of death.
Months or years may have passed since the date of death. The property may have been renovated, cleared out, or left vacant. A physical inspection today wouldn't reflect conditions on the valuation date anyway.
The appraisal uses comparable sales from around the date of death, not current market conditions. This historical analysis is performed identically whether the appraiser visits the property or not.
Date-of-death appraisals are retrospective. If the property has changed since the date of death, providing the following evidence helps us reconstruct its prior condition and develop the most accurate valuation.
Pre-renovation photographs showing the original condition of kitchens, bathrooms, landscaping, roofing, and structural elements. Smartphone photos, listing photos from a prior sale, or even casual family photos that happen to show the home’s interior are all useful.
Historical tax assessments, municipal building permits, and invoices for post-death repairs or improvements. These allow the appraiser to mathematically separate the property’s date-of-death value from the value added by subsequent work.
Written or verbal descriptions from family members, caretakers, or contractors about the property’s condition at the time of death — deferred maintenance, damage, outdated kitchens or bathrooms, or anything that has since been addressed.
Don’t let post-death renovations stop you from ordering. We handle altered-condition properties regularly. The more evidence you can provide, the stronger the retrospective valuation, but even limited information is better than none.