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To determine an inherited home’s fair market value, first identify the property interest, purpose, and valuation date. Then verify the home’s characteristics and compare relevant market evidence. I develop a supported value opinion from that investigation; a city assessment, online estimate, or neighbor’s sale is a starting point to examine.
Start with the value question and the date
The value needed for a historical estate record may differ from the value needed to sell the house today. Before I analyze sales, I need to know which question the assignment must answer. Your attorney or tax adviser should identify the applicable requirements, including the property interest and intended use.
IRS Publication 559 explains that inherited-property basis generally involves fair market value at death, with exceptions and special rules. That does not mean the appraiser decides your tax treatment or that every estate must order the same report. Send any written adviser instructions when you inquire.
Once the date is clear, I can judge whether the information in front of us relates to that date. For arranging the work and preserving earlier property information, see when to get a date-of-death appraisal and which records to keep.
What do the different numbers actually tell you?
If an heir brings me a city assessment, an online estimate, and a neighbor’s sale price, I do not choose whichever number seems most agreeable. I ask what supports each one. The address, date, property description, and source can reveal why the figures differ.
| Source | Useful information | What to check before relying on it |
|---|---|---|
| City assessment | Recorded property characteristics and the locality’s assessed value. | Assessment date, property facts, and suitability for the specific estate purpose. |
| Online estimate | A model’s estimate using available property and market data. | Data accuracy, treatment of condition, and whether the estimate addresses the required date. |
| Family estimate | Knowledge of the home, changes, defects, and neighborhood. | Which statements are documented facts and which are opinions about value. |
| Neighbor’s sale | An actual transaction to investigate. | Sale date and terms, size, condition, features, and meaningful differences. |
| Appraisal | A value opinion supported by a defined scope, property research, market analysis, and reasoning. | Correct interest, purpose and date; persuasive evidence; disclosed assumptions and limitations. |
These other sources can contain real market evidence. For example, Zillow says its estimate uses public records, MLS information, and user-submitted details, while distinguishing the estimate from an appraisal. The question is whether the available information adequately describes this house for this assignment.
If the disagreement is specifically about using an assessment for an estate, read whether a Virginia tax assessment can replace a date-of-death appraisal. That guide addresses the filing distinction in more detail.
I verify the house before deciding which sales fit
I inspect the home, measure it, and document the relevant interior and exterior characteristics under the agreed scope. Square footage is one of the facts people often believe they already know. I check it rather than treating a remembered figure as established.
Condition matters just as much. A relative may know the house well but overlook an old problem because it has been there for years. I ask the family to tell me about known damage, repairs, additions, and other changes. If you know about a problem beneath the floor or another concealed area, tell me and provide any available inspection findings or repair estimate.
My appraisal inspection is not a comprehensive home inspection or a structural investigation. I cannot confirm a hidden defect simply by walking through a room. Information you provide helps identify what needs further investigation and what limitations must be explained.
For an earlier effective date, today’s observations must also be connected to evidence of the house’s earlier condition. A current inspection does not by itself establish that nothing has changed.
The nearest sale is not automatically the best comparable
When someone gives me a nearby sale, I write down the address and investigate it. I do not quote a value during the inspection just because the family says that house is similar. I need to know what sold, when it sold, and how its relevant characteristics compare.
A house on the same street might be larger, have a different garage, or have an interior that is substantially more updated. If the family has not seen inside, that part of the comparison remains unverified. Location alone cannot resolve those differences.
For retrospective work, I organize the market research around the effective date, not the day I happen to inspect the property. I commonly begin by examining sales in roughly the preceding year, then assess whether the available evidence is sufficiently relevant. That is a research starting point, not a universal one-year cutoff.
I also evaluate the market conditions surrounding the required date. A recent sale relative to today is not necessarily recent relative to the valuation question. The report should explain the evidence selected and any material differences that affect its usefulness.
A supported conclusion explains why the evidence matters
I give the most weight to the evidence that best fits the property and assignment. I do not simply average several online estimates, or average comparable-sale indications without considering their relative strengths. A reader should be able to follow why the more persuasive comparisons carry more influence.
That explanation is what I want the family to examine when deciding how useful the appraisal is. Look for the property facts, selected sales, reasoning, and limitations behind the conclusion. An appraisal remains an opinion of value, not a guarantee of a future sale price.
Missing access or unreliable historical information can limit the conclusion. I verify what I can and explain material uncertainty. If the available evidence cannot support credible results, more information or a different scope may be needed.
Use the value for the question it answers
If the report is for a tax-related purpose, confirm the documentation requirements with your adviser; our guide to IRS appraisal terminology and requirements can help frame that conversation. If one heir will buy another out, the inherited-house buyout guide separates property value from debt, ownership shares, and settlement calculations.
To discuss an assignment, send the property address, required date, intended use, and available adviser instructions through our estate appraisal service page. You do not need every record assembled before making the first inquiry.
Sources and verification
Official and provider references checked October 24, 2026. The first-person descriptions reflect my interview responses about my appraisal practice.
- IRS Publication 559: Survivors, Executors, and Administrators — inherited-property basis and its qualifications.
- Virginia Beach: real estate assessment process — assessment purpose and checking property records.
- Zillow: What is a Zestimate? — the provider’s explanation of its model and limitations.
- Appraisal Subcommittee National Registry — Virginia license record.