One narrow question, answered precisely: on the date this owner died, what would the property have sold for? That figure drives the estate's tax reporting and becomes the heirs' new cost basis, which is why executors, trustees, CPAs and estate attorneys want it documented by a certified appraiser rather than estimated.
Why the Effective Date Matters So Much
Value is not a fixed property of a house. It is a reading taken at a moment, and moving that moment changes the answer. A date-of-death assignment therefore cannot be satisfied by looking at what the home would fetch today and working backward with a rule of thumb.
I rebuild the market as it stood on the effective date — which sales had closed and were known to buyers then, what was still listed and unsold, where the inventory and financing conditions sat. The comparables are chosen because of when they closed, not because they are the most convenient.
Retrospective Dates Going Back Decades
Some estates are settled promptly. Others surface years later, when a property is finally being sold and no one ever established a basis. I prepare valuations with effective dates from last month to more than forty years back, drawing on archived public records and historical sales data.
Written for the IRS and the Probate Court
A date-of-death report has two audiences that will not accept a casual document: the IRS, which may examine the basis claimed on a return, and the probate court supervising the estate. Every report is USPAP-compliant and sets out the subject, the comparable evidence, the market conditions on the date, and the reasoning that connects them.
One caution worth stating plainly: for residential and improved property, a desktop appraisal does not meet IRS requirements. Those assignments need a full Standard appraisal. Vacant land is the exception. I will tell you which product your situation actually requires before you order.
What Stepped-Up Basis Actually Saves
When real estate passes at death, its basis resets to fair market value on that date. Appreciation that built up during the decedent's lifetime is not taxed to the heirs. Document that value credibly and the heirs owe capital-gains tax only on what the property gains afterward; document it poorly, or not at all, and the burden of proof falls on them years later when records are harder to reconstruct.
Where I Can Take This Assignment
Two counties — San Diego and Riverside — I cover in person, which opens up the inspection-based report types. Everywhere else in California I work by desktop appraisal, and that reaches every one of the state's 58 counties. This site carries dedicated pages for 126 communities in 17 of them.
Getting a Figure From Me
The schedule opens at $299 and I pin down your number before any work begins. The whole fee schedule is published here; alternatively, describe the property and why you need it valued and I will come back with a price.