An Alaska or Hawaii equipment appraisal is an independent opinion of value for machinery, equipment, and business personal property located in either state. Sencer Appraisal Associates prepares USPAP-compliant equipment appraisal reports for attorneys, CPAs, courts, government agencies, lenders, insurers, business owners, and financial reporting teams.
Alaska and Hawaii assignments are managed from our mainland West Coast office by Garrett Schwartz, FASA, CEA, an ASA-accredited machinery and equipment appraiser, Fellow of the American Society of Appraisers, past International President of the American Society of Appraisers, and editor of the fourth edition of the ASA’s foundational textbook, Valuing Machinery and Equipment: The Fundamentals of Appraising Machinery and Technical Assets, published in 2020.
Working across a long distance is routine for us. We complete Alaska and Hawaii assignments as field inspections when the assignment calls for one, and as uninspected desktop appraisals when the intended use allows. Which route makes sense is settled in the proposal, before the engagement begins.
Equipment Appraisal Reports for Litigation, Financial Reporting, Lending, and Tax
Alaska and Hawaii equipment appraisal reports are commonly needed when a court, auditor, tax authority, lender, insurer, agency, buyer, seller, or business owner requires a defensible value opinion for machinery, equipment, or business personal property. The intended use determines the value definition, scope of work, inspection requirements, and report format.
- Litigation, expert witness testimony, and dispute resolution
- Financial reporting under U.S. GAAP and IFRS, including purchase price allocation, fair value, and impairment testing
- Asset-based lending and collateral evaluations
- Mergers, acquisitions, and buy-side or sell-side transaction support
- Estate planning, gift tax, and estate settlement
- Divorce and partnership dissolution
- Business sale, partner buyout, and shareholder dispute support
- Bankruptcy, insolvency, and receivership
- SBA 7(a) and 504 loan appraisals
- Insurance placement and loss claims
- Property tax and ad valorem appeals
- Surplus property disposition and public agency asset sales
- Government and grant-funded asset dispositions, including 2 CFR 200.313
- Charitable contribution appraisals supporting an IRS Form 8283
Who Uses Our Alaska and Hawaii Equipment Appraisal Reports?
Alaska and Hawaii equipment appraisal reports are used by attorneys, courts, CPAs, auditors, lenders, agencies, business owners, buyers, sellers, trustees, insurers, and tax advisors who need an independent value opinion for machinery, equipment, or business personal property. The report is prepared for the intended user and the specific purpose of the assignment.
- Attorneys, courts, mediators, and litigation teams
- CPAs, auditors, and financial reporting teams
- Banks, credit unions, SBA lenders, and asset-based lenders
- Government agencies, grant administrators, and public institutions
- Business owners, buyers, sellers, and investors
- Estate planners, trustees, executors, and tax advisors
Public agencies are a recurring part of the practice. The firm has been engaged by government bodies at the federal, state, county, municipal, and tribal levels, including the United States Coast Guard and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, along with public universities and school systems. Those assignments usually involve surplus property disposition, grant-funded asset compliance, acquisition review, or financial reporting.
Industries and Equipment We Appraise in Alaska and Hawaii
Alaska and Hawaii have equipment economies that look nothing like each other. Alaska runs on resource operations, construction, food service, healthcare, and the logistics that keep remote communities supplied. Hawaii runs on healthcare and research, hospitality and food service, construction, agriculture, and port and terminal operations. We appraise across both.
Our industry experience helps us understand the assets, ask the right questions, and plan an appropriate inspection and approach. The valuation analysis follows the relevant market for each asset, which may be local, regional, national, or international. For equipment sitting a long way from the deepest buyer market, that distinction matters, and the report says which market the analysis relied on.
Medical, dental, laboratory, and life sciences
We appraise equipment used by hospitals, medical and dental practices, imaging and oncology centers, research laboratories, and life-science companies. Alaskan and Hawaiian assets have included aesthetic and body-contouring laser systems from Alma Lasers, ZELTIQ, and Syneron Candela, medical and dental procedure chairs from Midmark, high-voltage capacitor charging supplies from Maxwell Technologies, laboratory microwave and RF waveguide components, diagnostic imaging, surgical instruments, and analytical instruments. See our medical equipment appraisals page and our clinical lab equipment appraisals page for more details.
Food processing, restaurants, and commercial kitchens
We appraise processing, packaging, refrigeration, bakery, restaurant, and institutional kitchen and hospitality equipment, along with the cold-chain assets that food operations in both states depend on. Alaskan and Hawaiian assets have included outdoor walk-in coolers and freezers from Norlake with Heatcraft refrigeration, commercial cooking lines, ice systems, dishwashing and warewashing equipment, bar and beverage systems, and complete restaurant inventories. See our food processing equipment appraisals and restaurant equipment appraisals pages for more details.
Construction, heavy equipment, and contractor fleets
We appraise construction fleets, earthmoving machinery, cranes, aggregate and paving equipment, shop machinery, and the support assets that go with them. Alaskan and Hawaiian assets have included rough-terrain forklifts from Gradall, hydraulic truck cranes from Grove, towable generator sets, welding and plasma cutting equipment, shop and woodworking machines, and portable power tool inventories. See our heavy and construction equipment appraisals page for more details.
Trucking, warehousing, distribution, and material handling
Port, terminal, and freight operations matter more in these two states than almost anywhere else, because nearly everything arrives by vessel or aircraft. We appraise commercial trucks, tractors, trailers, container chassis, bulk transport and storage trailers, and the equipment that moves freight once it lands. Alaskan and Hawaiian assets have included container handlers from Taylor Machine Works, terminal tractors from Kalmar, truck-mounted forklifts from Moffett, and forklifts from Komatsu, Caterpillar, Toyota, and Yale.
Manufacturing, metalworking, and industrial production
We appraise machine shops, fabricators, specialty manufacturers, and light industrial producers, from a single machine to a complete production line. Alaskan and Hawaiian assets include vertical and horizontal machining centers, CNC turning centers, engine lathes, press brakes, sheet metal fabrication machinery, packaging and converting lines, bulk storage silos, pressure vessels, compressor skids, and other plant support equipment. See our manufacturing and industrial production equipment appraisals and metalworking and machine shop appraisals pages for more details.
Agriculture and farm operations
Hawaii agriculture runs to coffee, macadamia, tropical fruit, diversified produce, ranching, and controlled-environment growing, while Alaska agriculture is concentrated in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and the Kenai Peninsula. We appraise tractors, implements, harvesting and processing equipment, irrigation, greenhouse and environmental control systems, and livestock handling assets. We also appraise cultivation, extraction, and processing equipment for licensed cannabis operations in both states. See our farm and agricultural equipment appraisals and cannabis industry equipment appraisals pages for more details.
Business, office, professional, government, and service equipment
Our work also covers equipment and business personal property held by hotels and visitor-serving businesses, professional practices, entertainment and event operations, government agencies, schools and universities, nonprofits, and other commercial and institutional operations. Alaskan and Hawaiian assets have included audiovisual and display systems, staging and rigging equipment, laundry and dry-cleaning machinery, survey instruments, fitness equipment, office systems, furnishings, vehicles, and other furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E). See our commercial equipment appraisals page for more detail. If your equipment is not listed here, contact us. We are glad to talk through your specific machinery.
Meet your appraiser: Garrett Schwartz, FASA, CEA
Sencer Appraisal provides independent machinery and equipment appraisals for businesses, lenders, attorneys, CPAs, agencies, and business owners with assets in Alaska and Hawaii. These assignments are managed from the West Coast office by Garrett Schwartz, FASA, CEA, an ASA-accredited machinery and equipment appraiser and past International President of the American Society of Appraisers.
The firm’s offices in California and Pennsylvania are supported by a network of expert associates. Multi-site engagements are routine, and a single assignment can cover assets in Alaska or Hawaii alongside locations on the mainland. Matthew Edelstein, ASA, leads the Chadds Ford office, and both principals work across the practice as workload and subject matter require.
Our reports are certified as compliant with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and are prepared for the intended use of the appraisal, including litigation, financial reporting, asset-based lending, SBA financing, estate and gift tax, divorce, insurance, purchase price allocation, and business transactions. For clients reporting under other frameworks, our valuers work to the standard that applies to them, such as the International Valuation Standards (IVS).
Where in Alaska and Hawaii We Work
The areas below include markets we serve and locations where Sencer Appraisal has performed machinery and equipment appraisal assignments. Specific examples identify representative work, but they do not limit the industries or locations we serve.
Alaska
We help clients with assignments throughout Alaska. That includes Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the Kenai Peninsula, the Interior, Southeast, Kodiak, and the communities served from them. Alaska work runs across healthcare and professional practices, food service and cold storage, construction and contractor fleets, transportation and logistics, manufacturing and shop equipment, and government and grant-funded assets.
Two examples give a sense of the range, but not the full extent. In Soldotna, we appraised aesthetic systems at a medical spa for a bank evaluating the equipment as collateral. In Wasilla, we appraised refrigeration equipment for the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, handling the disposition of grant-funded assets.
Hawaii
We serve clients across the islands, including Honolulu and Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island communities such as Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Kamuela, along with Maui, Kauaʻi, and Molokaʻi. Hawaii work leans toward healthcare, dental, and research equipment, hospitality and food service, construction and contractor assets, port and terminal operations, agriculture, and government and institutional property.
Hawaii assignments have included high-voltage pulsed-power supplies and laboratory microwave and RF waveguide components held at a university research facility in Mānoa, medical and dental procedure equipment on Hawaiʻi Island, a contractor’s rough-terrain forklift, shop and woodworking machinery, welding equipment, and portable power tool inventory, appraised for a marital dissolution matter, a towable generator set, diesel forklift, and hydraulic truck crane for the United States Coast Guard at its Kapolei facility, and container handlers, forklifts, terminal tractors, and trailers at a freight and terminal operation on Oʻahu appraised as part of a multi-site engagement.
Hawaii locations also turn up inside larger engagements that reach well beyond the islands. One covered a well-servicing company whose fleet of semi-tractors, bulk cement transport and storage trailers, storage silos and pressure vessels, compressor skids, forklifts, and laboratory testing equipment spanned California, Hawaii, and Central America, appraised on a retrospective basis for estate settlement.
Field appraisals are available in both states by arrangement, and uninspected desktop appraisals can often be completed from asset lists, photographs, and supporting records when the intended use allows. For work elsewhere in the United States and internationally, see Where We Value. For assets on the mainland West Coast, see our California equipment appraisal page.
How the Alaska and Hawaii Equipment Appraisal Process Works
The process usually begins with a short scoping conversation, followed by a written proposal, inspection or desktop analysis, market research, value development, and delivery of a signed USPAP-compliant report. The timing depends on the number of assets, the information available, the inspection requirements, and the intended use of the appraisal.
1. Initial conversation
You contact us by phone or through our Request a Proposal form. We discuss the assignment’s purpose, the assets involved, where they sit, the timeline, and whether the appraisal calls for an inspection or can be completed as a desktop assignment. There is no charge for this conversation.
2. Proposal and engagement
We send a written proposal with the scope of work, the value definitions to be developed, the deliverable format, the fee, and the estimated delivery date. Travel, when an inspection is warranted, is priced in the proposal rather than billed as a surprise later. Once you accept and execute the engagement letter, we begin the assignment.
3. Inspection or desktop analysis
For on-site assignments, Garrett or an associate travels to the location to inspect, photograph, and document the equipment. For desktop assignments, you provide an asset list and supporting documentation, and we develop value conclusions from that information under stated extraordinary assumptions.
4. Research and value development
We research comparable sales, manufacturer data, and market conditions specific to your assets and the value definition required by the assignment. Where the relevant market for an asset sits outside the state it occupies, the report identifies the market relied on and accounts for what it costs to reach it. Findings are documented in the equipment appraisal report.
5. Final report delivery
You receive a signed equipment appraisal report as a secured PDF. The report is certified as compliant with USPAP and prepared for the intended user, which may be a lender, court, accounting firm, attorney, agency, or business owner. When needed, the appraiser can support the report through deposition or trial testimony.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Alaska and Hawaii machinery and equipment appraisals.
Do you appraise machinery and equipment located in Alaska and Hawaii?
Yes. Sencer Appraisal Associates appraises machinery, equipment, and business personal property located anywhere in Alaska and Hawaii. Assignments are managed from our Oakland, California office and are prepared to meet the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Distance does not change the standard the report is prepared to meet, and it does not change the value definitions available to you.
Do you travel to Alaska and Hawaii for equipment inspections?
Yes, when the assignment calls for it. Field inspection is arranged the same way it is anywhere else we work, and travel is discussed as part of the proposal so the cost and the schedule are settled before the engagement begins. Many Alaska and Hawaii assignments are completed as uninspected desktop appraisals when the intended use allows, which is often the faster and less expensive route.
What is the difference between an on-site inspection and a desktop appraisal?
In an on-site assignment the appraiser visits the location to observe, photograph, and document the equipment. In a desktop assignment the appraiser develops value conclusions from an asset list, photographs, maintenance records, invoices, and other information you supply, under stated extraordinary assumptions about condition. Both can produce a USPAP-compliant report. The intended use, the intended user, and the assets themselves determine which is appropriate.
Do you appraise equipment for government agencies?
Yes. Sencer Appraisal has been engaged by government bodies at the federal, state, county, municipal, and tribal levels, including the United States Coast Guard and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, along with public universities and school systems. Public-sector assignments have covered surplus property disposition, the disposition of federally funded grant assets under 2 CFR 200.313, seized and forfeited asset disposition, equipment purchase evaluations, and estimated historical cost for federal financial reporting.
How much does an Alaska or Hawaii equipment appraisal cost?
Fees depend on the number and type of assets, the value definitions required, whether an inspection is needed, and the deliverable format. We quote a fixed fee in a written proposal before any work begins, and there is no charge for the initial conversation.
How long does an equipment appraisal take?
Most assignments are delivered within two to four weeks of engagement. Timing depends on the number of assets, how complete the information is, whether an inspection is required, and the research the value definition demands. If you are working against a filing date, a closing, or a court deadline, tell us during the first conversation and we will confirm whether the schedule is workable.
What is included in the appraisal report?
The report identifies the client and intended users, the intended use, the effective date, the value definitions developed, the scope of work performed, the assumptions and limiting conditions, the approaches to value considered, and the value conclusions. Asset detail is presented at the level the assignment requires, and the report is signed and certified as compliant with USPAP.
Are your equipment appraisal reports prepared for SBA, IRS, financial reporting, litigation, and court-related uses?
Yes. Reports are prepared for the intended use of the assignment, including asset-based lending, SBA financing, estate and gift tax, charitable contribution, litigation and marital dissolution, insurance, financial reporting, purchase price allocation, and business transactions. For clients reporting under other frameworks, our valuers work to the standard that applies to them, such as the International Valuation Standards.
What credentials should I look for in an equipment appraiser?
Look for an accredited machinery and equipment appraiser who works to a recognized standard, carries a designation from a body that requires testing, experience, and continuing education, and can support the report in deposition or at trial if the matter goes that far. Sencer Appraisal assignments are managed by Garrett Schwartz, FASA, CEA, an ASA-accredited machinery and equipment appraiser and past International President of the American Society of Appraisers.
Do you appraise real estate, homes, jewelry, or personal collectibles?
No. We appraise machinery, equipment, and business personal property. We do not appraise real property, residential contents, jewelry, fine art, or collectibles. If your matter involves both real property and equipment, we regularly work alongside a real estate appraiser so each asset class is handled by the right discipline.
Request an equipment appraisal proposal
Tell us what equipment needs to be appraised, where it is located, why the appraisal is needed, and any timeline or deadlines. We will review the assignment and respond with next steps, timing, and a written fee proposal.
Prefer to talk first? Call us toll-free at 888-473-6237 or reach the Oakland office directly at 510-761-6225.