Appraisals and Evaluations

 

          What's the difference between an appraisal and an evaluation?  Ello Piano Service offers the following types of piano appraisals and evaluations depending on your specific need.

          Comprehensive Piano Appraisal - Our technician will perform an onsite inspection of your piano in your home or other location.  Then he completes an appraisal form which lists the important parts of the piano and their current condition. At this time he rates these parts as good, needs service, needs replacement, or sadly, not worth repair. Next, he finds similar and comparable pianos on the current market to determine a fair market value.  Finally, our technician  fills out the section on IRS Form 8283 for charitable donations. There are strict requirements required by the IRS to be able to be an authorized appraiser for charitable donations. This appraisal includes an appraisal form, pictures, and a clarification letter.  It takes about 3 to 5 days to complete, and our current fee is $650 plus sales tax.

            Insurance or Market Value Appraisal -

Our technicians perform an onsite inspection and determine the our professional opinion of the current market value, the replacement retail value, or both according to the need of the customer. The value(s) are recorded and emailed to the customer on our Ello Piano Service Letterhead.  The fee is $225 plus sales tax.

          Pre-Sale or General Piano Evaluation - Our technician performs an onsite inspection of the piano to ascertain a general sense of the current market value of a piano for a buyer or seller without using a detailed appraisal form.  He also inspects the piano for major defects and major repairs that may be needed.  Our technician completes the evaluation in one 45 minute service call, and the current fee is $225 plus sales tax.

         NOTE:  It is not possible to obtain an accurate appraisal without a professional piano technician examining the piano in person at location. Internet generated appraisals are highly problematic and unreliable. In other words, don't fall for internet scams that promise the moon for next to nothing! It is not really possible to know the real condition of a piano without seeing it.

Mike Ello, RPT doing a Comprehensive Appraisal
Mike Ello, RPT doing a Comprehensive Appraisal