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An executor’s real-estate checklist should identify the authorized representative, property records, access contact, appraisal purpose, and required value date. Start the appraisal inquiry with the address and information you have. This checklist covers the house and its valuation; your attorney, tax adviser, and court officials handle the estate’s legal and filing requirements.
1. Confirm who can act and who handles each question
Ask the estate attorney to confirm ownership, authority, and any requirements for the proposed property decision. Being a relative or coordinating an appointment does not by itself establish authority to sell or transfer the home. The appraisal engagement also needs an identified client and intended users.
When families ask me probate or tax questions, I refer them to the appropriate professional. My role is residential valuation. I can explain the proposed appraisal and the information it needs; I do not interpret the will, decide inheritance rights, or give tax advice.
For local procedural instructions and appointments, use the Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk’s probate page. It directs families to call (757) 385-8831 for situation-specific instructions. The clerk’s appointment requirements are separate from the information I need for an appraisal inquiry.
2. Open a property file without waiting for every document
For the first conversation, give me the address and explain what you need. Bring the available information about the house, including updates, approximate ages of major components, known damage, and any earlier photographs. If the assignment involves a past date, the history of changes becomes especially useful.
You do not need to postpone the inquiry until you have assembled a perfect file. I can discuss what appears relevant once I understand the assignment. Separate confirmed facts from estimates: an invoice showing a completion date is different from a relative remembering that work occurred “several years ago.”
Keep the available deed, parcel record, floor plans, prior listings, earlier appraisal reports, and relevant condominium information together. The city’s real estate records office is a resource for recorded instruments; ask counsel to interpret ownership documents.
3. Confirm what the value must describe
Ask the adviser requesting the valuation to identify the purpose, property interest, and required effective date. A date-of-death value and a current sale value answer different questions. Give me any written instructions and the decision deadline before we agree on the scope.
Use when to arrange the appraisal and preserve records to organize the effective, inspection, and report dates. That guide also explains the historical photo file, so you do not need to reconstruct it from several overlapping checklists.
An appraisal report is not the estate inventory form. For the filing, follow the Virginia Judicial System’s CC-1670 inventory instructions and the estate’s advisers. Those instructions allow assessed real-estate values in specified circumstances; do not assume a private appraisal is mandatory for every filing. The worksheet below is a private planning aid, not an official court form.
4. Preserve condition information and disclose known problems
Tell me what you know about the home, including problems that are not visible during a walk-through. If you know of damaged floor joists, settlement, a concealed leak, or another issue, explain it. Hiding the information does not help the appraisal or the family’s later decisions.
Provide available inspection findings and estimates for work that still needs to be done. Receipts for completed work can also help establish what changed and when. I evaluate that information alongside my inspection and market analysis; a repair quote is not automatically a value adjustment.
If the home will be cleaned out or repaired before a historical appraisal, preserve dated photographs first when safe and practical. Record any changes after the required effective date. For understanding how this information supports the conclusion, read how inherited-home value is determined.
5. Arrange authorized access and a clear engagement
I generally need someone authorized to let me into the property at an agreed time. Every heir does not have to attend. A local contact can coordinate access when the person ordering the appraisal lives elsewhere.
Tell me beforehand about occupancy, restricted areas, disconnected utilities, pets, or known hazards that affect access. Safe access and accurate information are more useful than staging the house. Do not conceal damage or turn on a system you know is unsafe for the appointment.
Before the assignment begins, confirm who is engaging me, who may rely on the report, the agreed purpose and date, delivery arrangements, and payment. The person opening the door is not necessarily the client. Our guide to who orders and pays for a Virginia probate home appraisal explains those roles.
Your printable property-file worksheet
Copy this table into your working notes or print the page. Fill in the responsible person, document location, actual completion date, and unresolved question for each task. Keep sensitive records in the estate’s private file.
| Task | Responsible person | Document or file | Date completed | Unresolved question |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm authority | Name: ______ | Adviser’s instructions; relevant ownership record | ______ | Who may engage professionals or act for the property? |
| Identify property | Name: ______ | Address; parcel record; available deed | ______ | Are there additional parcels or interests? |
| Confirm value question | Name: ______ | Purpose; required date; recipient’s instructions | ______ | Historical value, current value, or both? |
| Preserve condition records | Name: ______ | Dated photos; change history; repair findings | ______ | What changed, and what remains uncertain? |
| Arrange engagement and access | Name: ______ | Agreement; authorized access contact | ______ | Who orders, pays, receives the report, and opens the home? |
| Review delivered report | Name: ______ | Report; factual questions with supporting records | ______ | Does it address the agreed property interest, use, and date? |
6. Check the delivered report and ask focused questions
Check the property identification, effective date, intended use, and important historical facts. I recommend reading the addenda first so you understand the explanation, then examining the comparable sales. The homeowner’s guide to reading an appraisal report explains that sequence.
If you find a possible factual error, identify it and send the supporting record. If you suggest another sale, provide its address and why it appears relevant. That gives me something specific to investigate rather than a request for a preferred outcome.
7. Route the next decision to the right professional
Return legal authority and distribution questions to the attorney, tax treatment to the tax adviser, and procedural filing questions to the appropriate court office or Commissioner of Accounts. I can clarify the value conclusion, supporting analysis, and limitations of the appraisal.
If the family later decides to sell or arrange an heir buyout, first check whether the existing report addresses that new purpose and date. For an appraisal inquiry, send the address, available information, and adviser instructions through our estate appraisal service page.
Sources and verification
Official resources checked October 24, 2026. Practical appraisal preparation reflects my interview responses. This checklist is not a court form or a complete estate-administration manual.
- Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk: probate — local appointment and procedural information.
- Virginia Beach: real estate records — recorded property instruments.
- Virginia Judicial System: inventory instructions, CC-1670 (PDF) — official filing guidance.
- Appraisal Subcommittee National Registry — Virginia license record.