No. A retrospective appraisal is developed for an effective date months or decades in the past, and the limit is the evidence available for that date, not the time that has passed. A certified residential appraiser builds the value from sales, records and photographs that existed on the effective date. The post below covers how far back the date reaches and what happens when the house has changed or sold, and assumes the reader knows which purpose needs a past date.
Appraisal Services of Oregon develops independent, USPAP-compliant opinions of market value for residential property across Oregon and Southwest Washington; the full practice is described on the residential home appraisals page.
No rule in USPAP caps how far back an effective date reaches. Older dates rely on thinner records, so the research grows with the years. A remodel or demolition is handled by valuing the house as it stood on the effective date. A later sale is evidence, not the answer. Sales after the effective date only confirm trends visible at that date.
Is there a deadline for a retrospective appraisal?
No appraisal standard sets a deadline for a retrospective appraisal. The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, published by the Appraisal Foundation, require every report to state two dates: the effective date of the value and the date of the report. A report written today with an effective date in 2014 is a normal retrospective assignment.
The deadlines that matter belong to the purpose, not to the appraisal:
- An estate tax return or an amended return carries a filing date set by the Internal Revenue Service or the Oregon Department of Revenue.
- A divorce case carries discovery and trial dates set by the court.
- A trust accounting carries the dates in the trust document.
A late appraisal does not extend any of those dates. The estate’s CPA or the family law attorney confirms the deadline before the assignment starts.
How far back can an appraiser reliably go?
An appraiser reliably reaches back as far as comparable sales and property records exist for the effective date. Five years is routine in most Oregon markets. Twenty years and more is possible where sale records, assessor files and photographs survive.
Reliability depends on the following conditions:
- Closed sales of similar homes recorded near the effective date in the same market area.
- Assessor records that show the size, age and features of the house at that time.
- Permit history that dates additions and remodels.
- Photographs, listing records or a prior appraisal close to the effective date.
Thin records widen the comparable search and lengthen the research. Missing records on a key feature lead to an extraordinary assumption, stated in the report, about the condition on that date.
What evidence replaces an inspection on the effective date?
Historical market data, county records and dated photographs replace the inspection the effective date never had. The appraiser still inspects the property today to confirm the layout, the site and the materials that have not changed.
The evidence comes from several sources. Multiple listing service archives supply sales and listing photographs. The county assessor supplies building records and tax lot maps. Building permits date later work. Family photographs, insurance records and receipts fill the gaps. Interviews with people who knew the house add detail, and the report names every source used.
What if the house was remodeled, damaged or torn down?
The appraiser values the house as it stood on the effective date and sets aside every change made afterward. A kitchen remodeled in 2023 does not enter a value fixed to 2019.
The approach differs by the kind of change:
- A remodel or addition is identified from permits and photographs, then removed from the analysis.
- Damage after the effective date is excluded, because the market on that date did not see it.
- A demolished house is valued from records and photographs alone, with an extraordinary assumption on condition.
Our retrospective appraisal page describes the full method and report contents.
What if the house already sold?
A completed sale is strong evidence of value near its own date, but the appraiser does not adopt the sale price as the past value. The gap between the sale and the effective date, any changes to the house and the terms of the sale decide how much weight the price carries.
A sale two months after the date of death, with no work done, carries heavy weight. A sale three years later, after a remodel, carries little. The appraiser compares the sale with other closed sales near the effective date and explains the result. The stepped-up basis post covers how the CPA uses that date-of-death value.
Can the appraiser use sales that happened after the effective date?
Sales after the effective date are used only to confirm a market trend that a buyer or seller would have recognized on that date. Advisory Opinion 34 from the Appraisal Foundation sets this line for retrospective value opinions.
The appraiser knows what the market did next, and the buyer on the effective date did not. A later price rise does not lift the past value. The appraiser sets a cut-off for later data and states it in the report.
Why are online estimate history and assessed value not enough?
An online home estimate history and a county assessed value are model outputs with no inspection, so neither documents market value on a past date. An online estimate on a past date reflects the model as revised later, not the evidence available then.
Oregon assessed value is limited by Measure 50, so the figure tracks a capped formula rather than sales. A CPA or attorney relying on either figure carries the risk of an unsupported number.
What does a recent retrospective assignment look like?
Many of my retrospective assignments involve houses renovated or expanded after the effective date. I have completed hundreds of retrospective appraisals in more than 24 years of practice where later improvements had to be separated from the condition on the effective date. I work from historical market research, public records, dated photographs and, where appropriate, family interviews. The report values the property as it existed on that date, regardless of the changes made afterward.
What questions do families and attorneys ask about past-date values?
Does the appraiser need to visit the house today?
Yes, in most assignments. The inspection confirms the site, the layout and the materials that existed on the effective date.
Why does the report show two dates?
USPAP requires both the effective date and the date of the report, so every reader knows the appraiser looked back from a later date. The value speaks only to the effective date.
Can the appraisal use the six-month alternate valuation date?
Yes. The estate’s CPA chooses the alternate valuation date under Internal Revenue Code section 2032, and the appraiser develops the value for that date. One assignment covers both dates when the CPA requests it.
What if family members remember the condition differently?
The appraiser relies on dated records and photographs first and records each account given. Conflicting accounts on a material feature lead to a stated assumption in the report.
Does a retrospective appraisal take longer than a current one?
A retrospective appraisal takes longer because the research covers archived data and records instead of current listings. The delivery date is confirmed when the inspection is scheduled.
How do you order a retrospective appraisal in Oregon or Washington?
Appraisal Services of Oregon develops retrospective appraisals for estates, trusts, divorces and tax basis questions across Oregon and Southwest Washington. Vess Zarghami has personally appraised over 15,000 properties. Clients in the Portland Metro reach the practice through the Portland residential appraiser page. Send the address, the effective date and the purpose on the request form, or call 503-757-7100.
