The Appraiser: Susan L. Andrews, CPPA
I grew up in Ottawa and took Advertising Creative at Algonquin College. Upon graduation I spent several years working as an Advertising copywriter in both Ottawa and Vancouver. After helping with the setup and launch of a notable bed-and-breakfast in Hartland, New Brunswick, I returned to Ontario in early 2000.
Since then I have been successfully employed in fields ranging from the barn manager of an Ottawa-area show facility to the field of private investigation and running a successful domestic services business. During this time, I was often asked by clients who knew of my love for antiques to keep an eye open for esoteric items of decor and artworks. This eventually lead to working for a local auction house, where I learned both the inner workings of the industry and, as a matter of course, learned how to correctly assess, handle and catalogue a great many items.
Finally, I am known for being honest, responsible and applying detail-oriented thoroughness to every aspect of my work. My third-party appraisals are free of bias and as a member of the Canadian Personal Property Appraisers Organization, I am beholden to a professional code of conduct and ethics.
The Appraisal Process
Please note that I conduct appraisals on-site only.
The process involved in conducting an appraisal is very straightforward.
Once a potential client approaches me with a request for an appraisal, I set about collecting information regarding the client’s location and the item or items involved. It might be the contents of an entire house, or just one item. This allows me to establish scope of work, whether or not I will need an assistant, and propose a suitable fee. The more items, the higher the fee as more research needs to be done.
For the most part, I am comfortable appraising a great many items. However, if the request involves material that is outside my scope of work – for example, stamp/coin collections – the client is notified and I will search the CPPAO directory for a fellow appraiser, preferably local to the client, who specializes in such work.
Once the scope of work and fee has been determined, a time and date for the appraisal is set. The contract is sent to the client and must be returned, completed, along with a required 50% retainer, prior to the appraisal date.
On the day of the appraisal, I visit the location and set about with the work of cataloguing. This involves taking photos, measurements and notes in addition to physically examining the items for any damage. Generally this process runs anywhere from a single hour to several. One appraisal involved two properties and multiple outbuildings, all very full; it took several days and necessitated staying in a nearby town for the duration.
With the cataloguing complete, I return to my office and begin conducting the research. Again, depending on the scope of work, preparing the report takes anywhere from a day to several weeks. When the report is finished I notify the client, ensure that I am paid the balance of the amount owing and then send the report.
Fees
All appraisals and valuations start at $500. This is non-negotiable.
The bigger the project, the higher the fee. For example, most appraisals for probate run into the thousands. More items means more work both on-site during the cataloguing process (which may necessitate hiring an assistant) and subsequently researching and appraising the items.
This is also why I ask potential clients for as accurate a figure as possible when describing the number of items that they wish to have appraised. I do not like exceeding the original quoted fee. However, if I find myself tasked with appraising 120 Royal Doulton figurines when I was told there would only be 24, then understandably the fee increases.