Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog
Over the past few years pieces have not been selling as well as expected or not selling at all. Often the amount they are appraised for, and thus the amount the IRS views them as valuing, is not close to the amount that they garner at auction.
Have you ever watched the TV show Pawn Stars? The same process plays out on the show over and over again. Someone will bring in a rare item, the pawn store owner will call in an expert to appraise the item, the appraiser will give an approximate value, and then the store owner will offer to pay half the appraised value of the item.
Obviously, a pawn shop is not going to pay full price for anything. However, the spiel that the store owner often gives contains lessons. He explains to the customer that the appraisal value is how much the item might get at auction, but that it has to be the right auction with the right buyer and that in this economy nothing is going at auction for the full appraisal value.