How to position appraisal fees for private work (without racing to the bottom)

Positioning your appraisal fee for private work means explaining what the client is paying for — the assignment, its scope, and how fast and clearly you deliver — before the number comes up. Private clients rarely have a fee schedule to compare you against, so how you frame the quote matters as much as the quote itself.

Lender work trains appraisers to think of the fee as something set by someone else. Private work flips that. An executor, attorney, or homeowner calls, and you set the price. Many appraisers respond by quoting low to be safe. This note covers the what and why of positioning instead. It deliberately contains no fee numbers: markets, property types, and liability vary too much, and anyone publishing a “standard” private fee is guessing about your market.

Why racing to the bottom does not work on private files

Private clients are usually not shopping on price first. An executor is trying to close an estate without mistakes. A family-law attorney needs a report that will hold up. A homeowner preparing for a tax appeal wants someone who understands the deadline. When the cheapest quote is the only thing that stands out, it can read as “this person does not do this kind of work often.”

Low fees also leave no room for what private assignments actually involve: a retrospective effective date, extra research, conversations with counsel, and sometimes testimony. Quoting as if it were a routine lender form sets you up to resent the file or cut corners on it.

Price the assignment, not the form

The useful question is not “what does a 1004 pay?” It is “what does this assignment require?” Common cost drivers on private work include:

• Effective date. A past date (date of death, date of separation, a tax lien date) means reconstructing the market and the property as of that date.
• Intended use and users. A report that may be read by opposing counsel, a court, or a tax authority carries different exposure than an internal planning value.
• Property complexity. Unusual properties, acreage, or limited comparable data take more time.
• Inspection and access. Occupied estates, out-of-town executors, or properties that have changed since the effective date add coordination.
• Testimony and consulting. Depositions, hearings, and calls with counsel are commonly billed separately from the report. Say so in the quote and the engagement letter.

Naming these drivers in your quote does two things: it justifies the fee, and it shows the client you understand their matter. See the fees section of the Private Appraisal Work Guide for the short version.

Clarity is part of the price

A private client often compares two or three appraisers. The one who replies the same day with a short, plain paragraph — what the assignment is, the effective date, the scope, the turn time, the fee, and how to engage — usually feels like the safer choice, even if they are not the cheapest. Vague replies, missing turn times, or “call me to discuss” emails push clients toward whoever answered clearly.

This is also why visibility and fees are linked. Clients who arrive through a clear local site or an attorney referral already know you do this work, so they are less likely to treat the quote as the only signal.

Scope and turn time belong in every quote

Private clients do not know what an appraisal includes unless you tell them. A quote that states the scope of work in plain language, the expected delivery date, and what is not included (testimony, revisions after delivery, additional effective dates) heads off disputes later and makes the fee feel considered rather than arbitrary. The same details then carry straight into your written engagement letter, where USPAP expects scope to be settled with the client anyway.

Keep lender pricing habits separate

If you still do lender work, keep those fee habits in their own lane. Lender fees are shaped by panels and AMCs; private fees are shaped by the assignment and the client’s need. Building a private book alongside lender work — the hedge discussed in UAD 3.6 vs the private book — works best when the private side is priced on its own terms.

A short self-check

• Does your quote name the assignment type and effective date, not just a form?
• Do you state turn time and what is excluded?
• Is testimony or consulting priced separately and stated up front?
• Could a client accept and pay the same day you quote?

If any of those are missing, fix the framing before you touch the number.

Part of the Private Appraisal Work Guide — assignment types, USPAP scope, fees, and how private clients find appraisers.

← All blog posts · Posts membership