Mortage Calculators



When an estate consists of real property of any kind, fair market value must be assessed for a variety of reasons. A property valuation must be determined when there are multiple heirs in order to equally divide its worth. Market value must also be assessed for tax purposes, and to determine the total value of the estate in order to assess inheritance tax liability, if applicable.

Perhaps one of the most beneficial uses of a property appraisal in an estate settlement, however, is that it takes all the emotion out of the assessment process and removes the possibility of speculation on the part of each heir. With official appraisal documents in hand, complete with detailed physical descriptions and comparable local property values, there is little room for conjecture or differing opinion on how much the property is really worth. Everyone is able to move on knowing they have engaged the services of a certified expert who has fairly and thoroughly considered and set forth the most accurate fair market value possible.

Appraised values are not absolute. There can be unknown factors that can affect the appraised value. The recent recession has certainly demonstrated how quickly an appraised value can become obsolete or inaccurate, based on circumstances outside of the appraiser's control. Nevertheless, most estate settlements do rely heavily on valuations returned by Estate appraisals.

Upon completion of the appraisal, the appraiser provides itemized documentation revealing the process of the value determination of the subject property, showing how the market value was calculated. Depending on the type of property being appraised and the purpose of the appraisal, there are several standard forms used in the industry.

Property appraisals are not an exact science. For the most part, property values are based on a set of variables, such as square footage, number of rooms, lot size, amenities, age of the property, etc. These variables are compared to other properties with similar statistics, that have been appraised recently, and values are adjusted for differences between the properties.

When the market opens, hundreds of people are seen fast moving about shouting and gesticulating to one another, staring at monitors, and entering data into terminals, or busy on cell-phones on the exchange floor. It looks like a complete fiasco. However, by the time the end of the day approaches, the market has worked out all the trades, and is all set for the next day. These are the steps in a simple trade on the exchange floor of any major Stock Exchange: You instruct your broker to buy a number of shares of a company at the current market price.

The broker's order department passes the order on to their floor clerk, the dealing official, in the exchange. From this person it goes to one of the firm's floor traders whose task it is to find another floor trader wanting to sell that number of shares of the company you wanted. Each floor trader has particular knowledge of which floor traders deal in what stocks. Choose ithe right broker rationally.This is a crucial point of money making from stocks.

Copyrigt @2011. All rights reserved.