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Private and Family Sale Appraisals
When a property changes hands between people who know each other, there is no market test. Nobody bid, nothing was listed, and the price is whatever the two parties decided. An appraisal supplies the missing evidence.
Why it matters more than in an arm's-length sale
A sale between family members is not arm's-length by definition, and several parties may later ask what the property was actually worth on that date.
The IRS will, if the price sits below market value: the difference can be treated as a gift, with gift-tax reporting consequences above the annual exclusion. A lender will, if the buyer is financing — non-arm's-length transactions get additional scrutiny, and some loan programmes restrict them. Other family members will, if the sale later looks like one sibling was favoured. And a court will, if the transfer is examined in a probate or Medicaid context.
An independent appraisal, dated to the transfer, answers all four at once. It is inexpensive compared with any of the arguments it prevents.
We are not valuing the relationship
Families often intend a below-market price, and that is entirely legitimate — you may sell your house to your daughter for less than it is worth. What matters is that the discount is a known discount rather than an accidental one, documented against a defensible market value so that the gift component is deliberate and correctly reported.
Our job is to establish the market value. What the parties then choose to transact at is their decision, and we do not need to agree with it.
Common situations
A parent selling to an adult child. Siblings buying out a co-inherited property. An unmarried couple separating and one party taking the house. A partner exiting a jointly owned rental. A transfer into or out of a family trust or LLC.
Our experience
Appraising South Florida since 1992, 34,000+ appraisals in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Broward counties. Residential only.
How the assignment runs
One inspection, one report, addressed to whoever engages us — or to both parties jointly, which we recommend in family transactions for the same reason we recommend it in divorces: a number both sides received at the same time is hard to argue with later. The report establishes market value as of the transfer date; your attorney or CPA then papers the transaction and any gift component. Keep the report with the closing documents permanently — the question it answers tends to come back years later, from the IRS or from a sibling.
The conversations this prevents
A parent sells to one child at a friendly price; years later the estate divides and the other children do the arithmetic. A partner buys out a co-owner ahead of a market run; the seller hears the resale price and calls a lawyer. Every one of these arguments is about what the property was really worth on the day — which is precisely the fact an appraisal fixes while everyone is still speaking.
Call 561-853-2129 or use the contact form.
Questions we hear about this work
Do we need an appraisal to sell a house to a family member?
Nothing forbids selling without one, but the IRS treats a below-market family sale as a part-gift, lenders scrutinise non-arm's-length deals, and other heirs remember prices for decades. An appraisal makes the discount deliberate and documented.
Can we still sell below the appraised value?
Absolutely — that is the point. Establish market value first, then transact where you choose; the difference is a known, reportable gift rather than an accidental one.
Does the buyer's mortgage complicate a family sale?
Often. Many programmes have extra rules for non-arm's-length purchases, and the lender will order its own appraisal regardless of ours. Ours protects the pricing decision; theirs underwrites the loan.
Who should order the appraisal — buyer or seller?
Either, or jointly. What matters is that both sides see it, so nobody later claims the price was set in the dark.