Some New Year’s resolutions can be a real pain — alarm clocks that must be set at ungodly hours, precious TV time that must be set aside for working out, and worst of all, cupcakes that must not be eaten. It all seems like a lot of effort, but there is one resolution that you can get off your to-do list with just a phone call — getting an appraisal.
Sometimes, people tend to think of appraisals as a single-issue tool; that once an item is appraised it can be insured and forgotten about, but according to Patti Geolat, appraiser / estate jewelry buyer in Dallas, appraisals are a great way to assess the current health of all of your financial assets.
Appraisals are an excellent way to take inventory of all of your assets. “For example,” explains Geolat, “we know that not everything you own is necessarily something you might insure, but you may decide you want to have an overview or catalogue of what you do own: artwork, jewelry, furniture, and the like. Then you can select the pieces you want to include on your homeowner’s policy.”
When I was young, I remember wandering through my grandmother’s house, peeping in jewelry boxes and vases to read the pieces of paper she would put inside. On each piece, she would write the year and country in which she purchased the item, and I loved these little glimpses into her life before I was born. What I did not know was that she was not the only person keeping track of her assets this way. In fact, another Geolat service called Provenance was born of this practice.
Provenance is a written historical explanation gathered from information provided by the owner that can be included in your appraisal. This creates a more detailed appraisal that also lets the next generation enjoying the piece know when it was acquired. For example, the next generation to inherit a piece of artwork can know that it was a gift from their mother to their father in Christmas of 2012.
Patti Geolat, who has a designation in risk management, also recommends considering updating your appraisal in 2017. She points out that while most people get an appraisal at the time of acquisition — which is generally a good idea — they don’t realize that value can fluctuate over the years.
“Depending on how the jewelry is worn, where the artwork is hung, and where the furniture is placed, you may have some additional condition issues that may need to be addressed,” explains Geolat. “Artwork can be fading, carpet can be exposed to pet stains, and jewelry may be in need of repair to prevent the loss of a gemstone. An appraisal will address all of those features, and Geolat can give advice on conservation.”
Get your appraisal off your to-do list this January with one phone call. Let Geolat do the work; call Judy for your appointment today.
jasa@geolat.com 972.239.9314 www.geolat.com
