Businesses and Business Intangibles Business Appraisal Federal Appraisal, LLC’s appraisers offer business appraiser certified services (ASA, business appraisal) for any number of business valuation issues.  Business appraisals and valuation services are needed for a number of purposes.  Federal Appraisal, LLC provides these services to both large corporations and small businesses.  Business appraisal differs from general real estate appraisal in that special care must be exercised in differentiating the various classes of assets during the analysis and in the reporting.  Of course, there are special appraisal methodologies for various business appraisal problems. Federal provides business and business asset appraisals for financing, tax reporting, investor reporting, and litigation. Mark to market, FASB 141 & 142 Going concerns Good will & intangibles Contracts, work forces in place, client/customer lists Impaired assets Damages and lost income Liquidation Intellectual property Personal property, Machinery and equipment Real Property and Land See our Corporate page, Small and Mid-Sized Companies page,  Asset Type page, and our Accounting and Legal issues pages, for more information on Federal Appraisal. Management Consulting Issues and Solutions for Corporations & Private Owners Federal Appraisal provides user-defined scopes of services and agreed upon procedures services relating to Corporations & Private Owners Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Federal Appraisal, LLC provides the real estate appraisals and valuation reporting support required by the SEC.  See our SEC page for more information. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Federal Appraisal, LLC provides the real estate appraisals and valuation reporting support required by the IRS.  See our IRS page for more information.

Power Plants, Utilities, and Infrastructure Properties Utilities and Infrastructure Federal Appraisal LLC provides business and real estate appraisals to the Power & Utilities Industry, worldwide. Utility properties may include power generation facilities (generation, transmission, and distribution), telecom facilities, regulated/deregulated utility companies, railroad assets, water and sewer facilities, and all other capital assets that may be involved. Federal Appraisal services all types of utility properties for IRS and SEC reporting purposes, property tax appeals, investment and lending underwriting, and other purposes. Power Generation Facilities We are one of the few providers capable of offering income and cost analyses for power generation facilities in the US and around the world. The power industry is undergoing tremendous changes because of the deregulation of the industry. Even the best of the pre-deregulation valuations will not suffice in our current deregulated markets. Few analysts have experience in the new deregulated market that we have at Federal. We provide analyses of both pre and post deregulated assets. We service hydroelectric, wind, solar, gas, coal, geothermal, battery storage, and nuclear transmission and distribution facilities around the country and around the world. Telecom Facilities This asset type has exploded onto the industry with issues surrounding cell towers, antenna pads on land and on roof tops, easements and right of way issues for cooper and fiber options, telecom buildings and incubators, network access portals, and technology housing facilities. These kinds of assets are expensive to build, with many costly building elements and short functional life spans. Analyzing such assets requires a special application of valuation and economic theory and market research. Federal often assists its clients in need of consulting services with bridging their experience gap between their traditional real estate practices and the telecom industry. Federal Appraisal offers its specialized skills and experience for the analysis of all types of telecom facilities and for your consulting needs. Railroad Assets Railroads continue to own and have rights to massive portfolios of real estate. The unusual use and history of these assets makes for a continual need for highly specialized valuation skills and experience. From condemnation/eminent domain to environmental issues to right of way issues to redevelopment issues, Federal Appraisal offers a full array of services for the railroad industry. Water and Sewer Facilities Federal Appraisal offers services specialized in water and sewer facilities, for both public and private concerns. Our services include condemnation/eminent domain, right of way and easement issues, property tax appeals, cost analyses, and services surrounding insurance issues, among other services. Regulated and Deregulated Companies and Utilities Federal Appraisal provides valuation services for both regulated and deregulated markets. We provide appraisal and valuation consulting concerning regulated utilities, such as vertically-integrated public utilities (electricity, gas, telecom, water) for tax issues and litigation. We also appraise deregulated utility companies and assets.

Appraising for Property Tax Assessments and Appeals Given that property taxes are often one of the highest expenses of property ownership, property taxes need to be managed intensely.  Unlike income taxes, which have national rules, property tax procedures are local and vary significantly.  That variance affects how to appraise and appeal taxes.  Federal Appraisal has been managing property taxes and appraising for property tax assessments purposes for more than 3 decades.  Appraisals for property tax assessment are not like appraisals written for other purposes.  In fact, appraisal practices in one taxing jurisdiction may not apply in other jurisdictions. Minor missteps can add up to millions of dollars in taxes. Whether our clients are setting an assessment, negotiating a PILOT, or litigating a property tax appeal, Federal offers specialized appraisal service for property taxes, across the county.  Federal routinely appraises general commercial property, special real property, and special personal property for property tax assessment and appeal purposes. Our appraisers regularly testify to their property tax appraisals. Our property tax services span the country, in both regulated and deregulated utility states, for the assessment of utility and power plant properties. Our services include valuation work in support of property tax forecasting and PILOTs.

Property Tax Appeals Federal Appraisal provides complete property tax appeals services.  We provide:  Assessment review and strategy/goal planning - Is a property over-assessed, under-assessed, or fairly assessed?  What should the target reduction or increase be?  Is the likely reduction or increase adequate given the risks, timing, and costs? Compliance & document submissions and preparation Pre-Assessment presentations, submissions, meetings, and negotiations Representation/advocacy or appraisal services Informal appeal services Representation/advocacy or appraisal services Formal appeal services Process management and/or appraisal services and expert testimony Background Real and personal property  is taxed by state and local jurisdictions, based on the market value of the property. This kind of tax is known as an "Ad Valorem" tax, meaning "of value" or based on value as opposed to income or sales.  The process begins with an assessor's estimate of the market value of the property.  On occasions, the assessors use information the property owners must file with the assessors.  Often the assessor's estimate of market value is converted to an assessed value, before the tax rate is applied. The assessed value is a percentage of market value.  Property owners sometimes believe that they are under assessed because they fail to convert their assessed values back into market values in their assessment review process.   Real property taxes are levied in all 50 states and are common around the world.  Personal property is taxed in about 40 states.  They represent one of the major sources of funding for schools and local governments. The Appeal Process The property tax appeal process, unlike the income and sales tax reporting process, is reactive.  In income and sales tax reporting, the taxpayers calculate their taxes and the taxing jurisdiction deciding whether it wishes to dispute it.  In the property tax process, the assessor decides what the  property owner should pay and the property owner must then react and decide whether to dispute the assessment.  In most cases the process relieves the property owner of the time consuming and costly reporting burden because the assessors estimate an appropriate market value and assessment; however, for all high value properties, say $3,000,000 or higher, and all special purpose properties and all properties experiencing significant changes in value, prudent management dictates that the assessment must be reviewed by the property owner, whenever an assessment is established.  Many property owners fail to complete this essential activity.  The failure to appeal an assessment can result in the substantial overpayment of taxes. The appeal process may begin with properly prepared pre-assessment submissions, when required or when advantageous and permissible. Many jurisdictions allow meetings with the assessors prior to the establishment of assessed values.  This is a cost-effective way to secure a reasonable assessment.  The counsel of a property tax expert is strongly recommended for this process.  Once the assessment is establish, prudent managers should avail themselves of the informal and non-legal venues that some jurisdictions provide to tax payers.   Again, the counsel of a property tax expert is strongly recommended for this process.   Lastly, when the other venues prove unable to provide relief, a taxpayer can pursue their appeal in court or other formal, legal venue as per the taxing jurisdiction procedure.  The counsel of an attorney, an appraiser and a property tax expert is strongly recommended. Also see our Property Taxes and our Property Tax Management pages.