Appraisals

        For over sixty years, Thomas Industries has been providing worldwide industrial and commercial appraisals of machinery, equipment, inventories, and intangible assets. Thomas’s staff includes some of the most qualified and respected appraisers in the country, maintaining certifications with the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and Association of Machinery and Equipment Appraisers (AMEA). All Thomas appraisals are prepared in conformity with the highest standards and are compliant with all USPAP requirements.
        The company’s senior personnel, with an average experience of over twenty-five years, are not only appraisers but are also actively involved in buying and selling equipment within their areas of expertise. Their daily exposure to the national market place applied in conjunction with standard accepted appraisal methodologies is the basis for providing accurate valuation services.
        Depositions and court testimony are often apart of the appraiser’s job and Thomas’s appraisers have appeared as expert witnesses in State and Federal courts throughout the country. In these situations advanced preparation and the appraisers’ experience are the key to a successful outcome for the client.
        Thomas’s appraisals are utilized for a variety of purposes including asset-based lending, bankruptcies & foreclosures, mergers & acquisitions, ad-valorem tax appeals, insurance purposes, eminent domain cases, estate purposes, and divorce settlements. Depending on the intended use of the appraisal, Thomas’s personnel assists in determining the correct premise of value, whether it be Forced Liquidation Value, Orderly Liquidation Value, Fair Market Value, Replacement Cost, or some other value.

        Appropriate Values:

        Asses Based Lending:

        • Forced Liquidation Value

        • Orderly Liquidation Value


        Bankruptcies & Foreclosures:

        • Forced Liquidation Value

        • Orderly Liquidation Value


        Mergers & Acquisitions:

        • Fair Market Value

        • Fair Market Value In Continued Use

        • Fair Market Value – Installed


        Ad-Valorem Tax Appeals:

        • Fair Market Value In Continued Use


        Insurance Purposes:

        • Replacement Cost

        • Fair Market Value

        • Fair Market Value In Continued Use

        • Fair Market Value – Installed


        Eminent Domain:

        • Fair Market Value In Continued Use


        Estate Purposes:

        • Fair Market Value


        Divorce Settlements:

        • Fair Market Value

        • Fair Market Value In Continued Use

        • Fair Market Value – Installed

        • Orderly Liquidation Value


        Definitions of Values:


        Forced Liquidation Value is the estimated gross amount expressed in terms of money that could be typically realized from a properly advertised and conducted public auction, with the seller being compelled to sell with a sense of immediacy, 60 to 90 days, on an as-is, where-is basis, as of a specific date.


        Orderly Liquidation Value is the estimated gross amount expressed in terms of money, that could be typically realized from a liquidation sale, given a reasonable period of time, 3 to 4 months, to find a purchaser(s) with the seller being compelled to sell on an as-is, where-is basis as of a specific date.


        Fair Market Value is the estimated amount, expressed in terms of money, that may be reasonably expected for a property in an exchange between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with equity to both, neither under any compulsion to buy or sell, and both fully aware of all relevant facts, as of a specific date, considering the cost of removal of the property to another location.


        Fair Market Value in Continued Use is the estimated amount, expressed in terms of money, that may reasonably be expected for a property in an exchange between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with equity to both, neither under any compulsion to buy or sell, and both fully aware of all relevant facts, including installation, as of a specific date, and assuming that the earnings support the value reported. (This amount includes all normal direct and indirect costs to make the property fully operational and may not readily pertain to aircraft.)


        Fair Market Value – Installed is the estimated amount, expressed in terms of money that may reasonably be expected for an installed property in an exchange between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with equity to both, neither under any compulsion to buy or sell, and both fully aware of all relevant facts, including installation, as of a specific date. (This amount includes all normal direct and indirect costs, such as installation and other assemblage costs, to make the property fully operational but does not have to be supported by the business earnings.)


        Liquidation Value in Place is the estimated gross amount expressed in terms of money that could typically be realized from a failed facility, assuming that the entire facility would be sold intact within a limited time to complete the sale, as of a specific date.


        Replacement Cost New is the current cost new, of a similar new property having the nearest equivalent utility as the property being appraised.


        Methodologies of an Appraisal


        The three valuation methodologies, accepted by the leading appraisal institutions, used to derive value include the cost approach, sales comparison approach and income approach. These appraisal methodologies are defined as follows:


      • Cost Approach: This approach is based on the proposition that the informed purchaser would pay no more for a property than the cost of producing a substitute property with the same utility as the subject property. It considers that the maximum value of a property to a knowledgeable buyer would be the amount currently required to construct or purchase a new asset of equal utility. When the subject asset is not new, the current cost new for the subject must be adjusted for all forms of depreciation and obsolescence as of the date of the appraisal.

      • Market or Comparable Sales Approach: This approach involves the collection of market data pertaining to the subject assets being appraised. This approach is also known as the “Comparison Sales Approach.” The primary intent of the market approach is to determine the desirability of the assets through recent sales or offerings of similar assets currently on the market in order to arrive at an indication of the most probable selling price for the assets being appraised. If the comparable sales are not exactly similar to the asset being appraised, adjustments must be made to bring them as closely in line as possible with the subject property.

      • Income Approach: This approach considers value in relation to the present worth of future benefits derived from ownership, and is usually measured through the capitalization of a specific level of income.