Personal property appraiser

A personal property appraiser

Description

Personal property appraisers undertake detailed analysis and investigation of personal items such as books, wine, arts and antiques in order to determine their value for sales and insurance purposes. They assess the value of the items, taking into account the age, current condition, quality and if any repairs are required. Personal property appraisers prepare appraisal reports.

Personal property appraisers typically do the following:

  • Verify descriptions of properties such as jewelry, art, antiques, collectibles, and equipment, by consulting public records
  • Inspect property, noting its characteristics
  • Photograph items or real estate
  • Analyze “comparables,” or similar items or properties, to help provide values
  • Prepare written reports on property values
  • Prepare and maintain current data on each real estate property or other tangible asset

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to personal property appraiser:

personal items valuer
personal items claims adjuster
personal property valuer
personal property claims adjuster
professional valuer of personal items
personal property claims assessor
personal items assessor
personal property assessor
professional valuer of personal property
personal items valuation professional

Working conditions

Although personal property appraisers work in offices, they may spend a large part of their time conducting site visits. Time spent away from the office depends on the specialty. For example, residential appraisers work in offices less often than do commercial appraisers, who might spend several weeks analyzing information and writing reports about a single property. Appraisers employed by banks and mortgage companies generally work in an office, making site visits only when necessary.

Work Schedules

Most property appraisers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Self-employed appraisers, often called independent fee appraisers, may work more than 40 hours per week.

Minimum qualifications

Although requirements vary, personal property appraisers typically need a bachelor’s degree. Common fields of degree include business, social science, and psychology.

College courses in subjects such as computer science, finance, and business or real estate law may be useful for prospective personal property appraisers.

Employers may require new workers to take basic appraisal courses and complete on-the-job training that lasts 12 months or more. Appraisers also may need to work enough hours to meet requirements for licensing or certification.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Personal property appraiser is a Skill level 3 occupation.

Personal property appraiser career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to personal property appraiser.

property appraiser
title closer
actuarial assistant
property insurance underwriter
insurance risk consultant

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of personal property appraiser. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of personal property appraiser with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

insurance claims manager
insurance rating analyst
insurance agency manager
actuarial consultant
conservator

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of personal property appraiser.

  • Insurance law: The law and legislation concerning the policies of transferring risks or losses from one party, the insured, to another, the insurer, in exchange for a periodic payment. This includes the regulation of insurance claims and the business of insurance.
  • Risk management: The process of identifying, assessing, and prioritising of all types of risks and where they could come from, such as natural causes, legal changes, or uncertainty in any given context, and the methods on dealing with risks effectively.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of personal property appraiser.

  • Compile appraisal reports: Compile full reports of appraisals of properties, businesses, or other goods and services being appraised using all the data gathered during the appraisal and valuation process, such as financial history, ownership, and developments.
  • Analyse insurance needs: Gather information about the insurance needs of a client, and give information and advice about all possible insurance options.
  • Obtain financial information: Gather information on securities, market conditions, governmental regulations and the financial situation, goals and needs of clients or companies.
  • Analyse insurance risk: Analyse the probability and size of the risk that is to be insured, and estimate the value of movable or immovable property of the client.
  • Determine resale value of items: Examine items to search for any damages or signs of deterioration and take into account the current demand for used goods of the item’s nature in order to set a likely price at which the item can be resold, and to determine the manner in which the item can be sold.
  • Perform market research: Gather, assess and represent data about target market and customers in order to facilitate strategic development and feasibility studies. Identify market trends.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of personal property appraiser. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • Art-historical values: The historical and artistic values implied in examples of one’s branch of art.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of personal property appraiser. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • Estimate value of clocks: Estimate the market value of new or used clocks based on professional judgment and knowledge.
  • Estimate value of musical instruments: Identify new or second hand musical instruments and estimate the market value of them based on professional judgment and knowledge of musical instruments, or subject them to estimation by a third party.
  • Estimate value of used goods: Examine items owned by an individual in order to determine its current price by assessing damage and taking into account the original retail price and the current demand for such items.
  • Assess customer credibility: Communicate with customers to assess whether their true intentions are in line with what they claim in order to eliminate any risks from a potential agreement with the customer.
  • Research market prices for antiques: do research to stay informed on the market prices of antique items, in order to set correct prices for antique merchandise.
  • Calculate value of gems: Determine appraised value of gemstones such as diamonds and pearls; study price guides, market fluctuations and grades of rarity.
  • Estimate restoration costs of antique items: Estimate the price of the restoration process of antique products taking into consideration the  time required for restoration.
  • Evaluate art quality: Correctly evaluate the quality of art objects, artefacts, photographs and documents.
  • Estimate value of used jewellery and watches: Assess used metal (gold, silver) and gems (diamonds, emeralds) based on age and current market rates.
  • Organise a damage assessment: Organise a damage assessment by indicating an expert to identify and examine the damage, give information and instructions to experts and follow up on the experts, and write a damage report.

ISCO group and title

3315 – Valuers and loss assessors


References
  1. Personal property appraiser – ESCO
  2. Property Appraisers and Assessors : Occupational Outlook Handbook – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  3. Featured image: By German.Center.1 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated on February 3, 2023

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