Seattle Estate Appraisals: Current and Date-of-Death Value

Short answer: A Seattle estate appraisal should identify the residence, effective date, report users and historical property evidence before work begins.

Is the estate asking for historical or current value?

Date-of-death value and current sale value answer different questions. The client and advisers should identify the effective date and intended users before engagement. If both dates matter, they should be scoped and reported distinctly.

What type of Seattle residence is involved?

A detached home, condominium, townhouse or property with an accessory unit can require different records and analysis. Identify the exact unit, parcel, ownership interest and any additional spaces or rights that are part of the real property.

How can the earlier condition be supported?

Gather dated photographs, prior listings, remodel records, permits and earlier reports. Note work completed after death. The appraiser can inspect the current property, but historical conclusions depend on evidence about what existed on the requested date.

Which Seattle sources may help?

Seattle SDCI research tools can locate permit and project history. King County Parcel Viewer helps identify parcel and assessment information. Neither assessed value nor permit cost automatically equals market value.

What remains outside the appraisal?

The report does not inventory personal property, value a business, calculate estate tax, decide beneficiary rights or direct the property’s distribution. Those issues require the estate’s legal, tax or fiduciary advisers.

What should the executor send for a quote?

Provide the address, residence type, purpose, effective date, intended users, deadline and access contact. Mention condominium documents, accessory units, major alterations, multiple parcels and gaps in historical evidence that could affect scope. If a sale or heir buyout is also planned, state whether a separate current value is requested.

Call 425-753-1971 or email dustin.labrasseur@gmail.com.

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Revised October 8, 2026.