The value comes at the end of an equipment appraisal, not the beginning A car wash equipment appraisal determines the value of the machinery and equipment; not necessarily the land, building, or operating business. The value depends on the specific equipment, its condition and effective age, the purpose of the appraisal, the applicable definition of…Read More
Valuing California Farm Equipment in 2026: From General-Purpose Iron to AI-Enhanced Specialty Cultivators
My California agricultural equipment appraisals almost always involve sorting the fleet into three distinct categories: general-purpose machinery, crop-specific specialty equipment, and newer AI-enabled systems. I start the sorting process when we receive the asset list and refine it during the inspection process. The first asset group is general-purpose agricultural equipment — the backbone of most…Read More
Valuing Walnut Processing Equipment in a Down Market
I’ve appraised a number of walnut processing faculties in the past few years, some for California Section 2000 shareholder disputes, others for IRS gift and estate tax, and one outcome has been consistent: the value of walnut processing equipment is not what it was. These current low values are mostly due to two intertwined factors:…Read More
State Board of Equalization Equipment Appraisal Presentation
At the State Board of Equalization meeting Friday, December 6, 2019, I served as one of five panelists for a discussion of Assessment of Personal Property & Fixtures: Ensuring Accurate & Consistent Valuations & Application Methods. The other equipment appraiser on the panel was my colleague Garret Schwartz. Panelists affiliated with the assessor’s office were…Read More