Deconstruction can produce valuable charitable tax deductions. An reliable appraisal is critical.
Many homeowners desire to make good environmental choices. Diverting an entire dwelling of building materials from the land fill is certainly a good way to make a positive impact as C&D waste accounts for 12-50% of the entire waste stream (4.3 million tons of C&D waste per year in CA alone) .
The cost of deconstruction, however is typically more expensive than traditional demolition. This is because it is far more labor intensive to take a building down piece by piece.
In order to offset the additional cost, it is possible to donate the building materials to a qualified non-profit and receive a tax advantage for the donation. Due to IRS guidelines, any donation valuing over $5,000 requires an appraisal, which is where our services come in to play.
Why is it important to use only qualified appraisers during the deconstruction process?
The IRS only allows appraisers that are certified and qualified to provide appraisals for the charitable donation of building materials.
Appraisers that inflate values and/or do not use recognized methodologies should be avoided. If an appraiser promises a value that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Talk to your appraiser and make sure that their goal is to provide you with a reasonable and ethical appraisal.
Property Pros’ Qualifications
The appraisers at Property Pro’s have over 14 years of experience in the appraisal industry and have been performing appraisals for the charitable contribution of building materials for over 9 years. We are active in the green building industry and hold certifications not only as Certified Appraisers but as Certified Green Building Professionals and Certified GreenPoint Raters through Build It Green. We utilized recognized appraisal methodologies and our appraisals are both reasonable and ethical.
What makes Property Pro’s different from others?
Property Pro’s is dedicated to environmentally sustainable building. We believe that the first step in this process is to properly repurpose, reuse, and recycle the existing improvements on a site prior to building a new structure. We work with clients through this process to provide the tools necessary to make an educated decision.
Our appraisal services are focused on reasonableness which is a key component of the IRS publication regarding charitable donations. It is important to us that tax benefits continue to be available to those who desire to choose deconstruction as an alternative.
Our experience, research, and materials data base, allows us to provide quality appraisals and our relationship with the non-profits allows us to insure that our clients receive the full benefit of their donation.