appraisals | National Inventory Certification Association

14 Jan 2021

Grow Your Inventory Business By Adding This Service

Appraisal

The Appraisal Examiner specialty can help you expand your inventory services business. Whether working with our Associate Member ValuePros or with local appraisers, your expertise can be valuable. The knowledge gained in the Appraisal Examiner course will provide you with information that will help you confidently talk to your inventory clients about their high-value items. Suggesting an appraisal of these items is a very easy up-sell, as well as an important step for them to protect their belongings properly. You can grow your business just by offering this additional service of being a Certified Appraisal Examiner (CAE).

By contacting your current client base to inform them of your newly earned CAE, you will have an opportunity to reconnect. This might also encourage them to hire you to update their current inventory or create an entirely new one (if they’ve made major changes). And, of course, you’ll also have the opportunity to ask them for referrals.

Your CAE designation will enable you to market your services to local appraisers. While appraisers do whole-house appraisals, most don’t provide inventory services. Though people need to know what they own, it is rarely necessary to have all items appraised. Appraisals are normally completed on high-end contents. A whole-house appraisal is more costly than an inventory, and most often a contents inventory is sufficient to aid the client in being able to remember and report the value of their belongings. By meeting the appraisers in your area, it is a high possibility that you could find a few who will refer you to their clients. And, as the course discusses, you might also be able to become a sub-contractor for those appraisers.

25 Jun 2020

Tips For Certified Appraisal Examiners

As you begin marketing and reaching out to prospects and referral sources, you’ll want to remind them of the variety of services you offer. Here are some quick reminders to restart your inventory business by including appraisal examiner services:

Include your relationship with our Associate Member ValuePros in your newsletter, social media posts, and on your website.
When on-site conducting an inventory, mention your CAE designation and how you can arrange for an appraisal of their high-value items.
Contact insurance agents, financial planners, and estate planners to inform them of this additional service you can provide to their clients.
Add “appraisals” to your website’s keywords and include a page or section about your appraisal services.
Include appraisal services in your Google My Business and other public sites where you are listed.

06 Sep 2017

Pennsylvania Inventory Professional Achieves Appraisal Examiner Certification

The National Inventory Certification Association announces that member Lavon Kearney has earned the designation of Certified Appraisal Examiner.

PRESS RELEASE – The National Inventory Certification Association (NICA) is pleased to announce that Lavon Kearney, owner of Serenity Assured Inventory Solution, has recently earned the designation of Certified Appraisal Examiner (CAE).

Growth of the personal property inventory industry has created an opportunity for contents inventory professionals to serve as Appraisal Examiners. The purpose of a CAE designation is to establish recognition for this specialized service. This certification provides the education and the credentials needed to properly assist appraisers.

This enables appraisal firms to locate and subcontract certified, qualified examiners to assist with the collection of descriptions and photos of items to be appraised. The appraisers are then able to create an accurate Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) compliant certified report from this information provided by the inventory professional. Additionally, the home inventory professional is able to grow their businesses through additional revenue opportunities.

When completing an inventory service for residential and commercial clients, the inventory professional is often asked if they know the value of items, or if they can refer an appraiser. The CAE designation signifies that these contents inventory professionals have the knowledge required to collect and then submit the necessary information for an appraiser to assign value. This allows for a two-way referral opportunity between these two industries.

To help ensure that the inventory service provider is prepared to serve the appraisal industry, the NICA Education Committee, consisting of NICA members, an established property appraiser, and the Association Directors, determined the requirements to achieve an Appraiser Examiner Certification.

Only those who have earned their Certified Inventory Expert (CIE) or Certified Inventory Specialist (CIS) designation are eligible to apply for this additional level. The inventory professional is also required to successfully complete the Customer Service and Appraisal Examiner courses, plus an elective chosen from the NICA curriculum. The Appraisal Examiner course was co-written by a property appraiser to ensure integrity and provide hands-on processes for accurate collection of information.

Lavon stated, “Whether someone wants just one item appraised, a few items, or a whole house, I am now able to confidently and professionally collect the information and forward it to a USPAP certified appraiser. I am very excited about this additional service I can now offer my clients.”

Based in Export, Pennsylvania, Serenity Assured Inventory Solution offers residential and business asset inventory services to the metropolitan Pittsburgh area.

12 Jul 2017

Renovation Angel Q&As

Renovation Angel is the National Inventory Certification Association‘s (NICA) newest Associate Member, and one who can provide some great connections for you to grow your home inventory business. They are North America’s premier luxury kitchen, renovation, and furniture recycling enterprise. Homeowners receive thousands of dollars in project savings through: 1) a full tax deduction, 2) free, white-glove removal/pack/transport, and 3) no disposal fees. Renovation Angel has conducted over 5,000 projects including a member of the Forbes 400, Celebrities, Sports Stars, and High-Net-Worth Property Owners.

NICA held a conference call a few months ago for members, and many were excited about the possibilities of being an Appraisal Examiner for Renovation Angel and Nugent Appraisal, which conducts the appraisal portion of the project.

Questions and Answers

A few questions were sent to the NICA office after the call, so we wanted to share them with you in the newsletter.

Do you recycle residential only, or do you also recycle commercial kitchens?
Mostly residential kitchens. However, good condition commercial kitchens we have taken – both from residences and restaurants.

What is the minimum dollar amount for a project to qualify (to make it worth our time to go on site to get photos to send for your review/acceptance)?
Generally $10,000 or more of re-sale is the minimum. However, if it is good quality luxury items (furniture, a cooking range, chandelier), it could be $5,000 – $10,000

When you say you will take all contents of an estate, does that include dishes, pots & pans, linens, etc., or only specific items?
Generally we do not take dishes, etc. However, if they are part of larger, valuable donation, and they can be packed up in boxes, we will take them (it becomes one of the negotiating points on a donation)

For a whole-house contents donation, is there a minimum of fair market value that must be met before the estate qualifies; in other words, must all contents be “luxury” items?
We take numerous donations where the items are very good condition mid-range furniture, kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, etc.

Do you pay for travel?
If you are inspecting on our behalf, you would give us a quote for your fees, to include travel time, mileage, etc.

Once the examiner portion of the project is complete, how and when is the payment processed?
You would send your digital invoice to Robin Canfield, Director of HR & Finance, which is paid within 7 business days.

Consider the opportunities!

28 Jun 2017

Tampa, Florida Member Achieves Appraisal Examiner Certification

Congratulations to member Debra Palmer for achieving the designation of Certified Appraisal Examiner.

PRESS RELEASE – The National Inventory Certification Association™ (NICA) is pleased to announce that member Debra Palmer, owner of Palmer Home and Business Inventory Professionals, has recently earned the designation of Certified Appraisal Examiner (CAE).

The growth of the personal property inventory industry has created an opportunity for personal property inventory professionals to serve as an Appraisal Examiner. This certification provides the credentials to assist appraisers by collecting the required information they need to create an accurate Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) compliant certified report. The purpose of a CAE designation is to establish recognition for this specialized service, providing the opportunity for appraisal firms to locate certified, qualified examiners, and for Certified NICA members to grow their businesses through additional revenue opportunities.

When completing an inventory service for residential and commercial clients, the inventory professional is often asked if they know the value of items, or if they can refer an appraiser. The CAE designation signifies that these contents inventory professionals have the knowledge and information required to collect and provide the necessary information for an appraiser to assign value. This allows for a two-way referral opportunity between these two industries.

To help ensure that the inventory service provider is prepared to serve the appraisal industry, the NICA Education Committee determined the requirements to achieve an Appraiser Examiner Certification.Only those who have earned their Certified Inventory Expert (CIE) or Certified Inventory Specialist (CIS) designation can apply for this additional level. They are also required to successfully complete the Customer Service and Appraisal Examiner courses, plus an elective, chosen from the NICA curriculum. This Committee included Members of NICA, an established property appraiser, and the Association Directors.

Managing Director Cindy Hartman states, “Debra has been providing personal property inventories for years in the Tampa area. This certification brings additional credibility to her company and also enables her to expand her service to serve more clients’ needs.

Based in Tampa, Florida, Palmer Home and Business Inventory Professionals offers residential and business asset inventory services and now appraisal services to the Tampa metro area.