Austin Equipment Appraisal
Certified valuations of Austin heavy equipment, one machine or a whole fleet. Starting at $295.
Texas Equipment Appraisal values Austin heavy equipment, including cranes, excavators, paving machines and dump trucks, machine by machine in a certified USPAP report signed by an equipment appraiser. An Austin contractor adding machines for a highway job, an owner selling a fleet, and a bank taking equipment as collateral, the security for a loan, all need the same thing: a certified value for each machine, from someone with no part in the deal.
- Machines are identified by the serial numbers or VINs you send, so the report can be matched to a loan file or a title.
- A desktop appraisal works from photos and meter readings, so equipment can stay on the job.
- When the reader of the report requires it, someone inspects the equipment in person.
- The report follows USPAP, the standard for appraisals, and its signer holds the CMEA designation (Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraiser).
- The quote comes by email and includes the delivery date.
- USPAP-compliant
- Signed by a CMEA
- Rated 5.0 on Google
How does an Austin equipment appraisal get started?
1. Describe the equipment
Say how many pieces there are and what they are. A rough list is enough for a quote.
2. Name the reader and the date
A bank, a buyer and a county appraisal district each use a report differently. Know who it is for, when they need it and whether they want the equipment seen in person. The quote form asks about the last two.
3. Send the records
After you approve the quote, send the records and photos for each piece. The signed report comes back by email.
What should an Austin contractor or fleet owner know first?
- Desktop or on-site
- A desktop appraisal is done from your photos and records. On-site means the equipment is also inspected in person. Whoever will read the report decides which one they accept, so ask them before you order.
- Which value
- Fair market value is what the equipment would sell for with no pressure on either side. Orderly liquidation value is the lower figure a seller should expect when the sale has to happen within a limited time. Ask the reader which one they need, or whether they need both.
- Liens are filed in Austin
- A lender’s claim on equipment is called a lien. For most equipment it is filed online with the Texas Secretary of State, whose office is in Austin. Equipment fixed to a building is filed with the county clerk instead. Give your lender the same serial numbers you give us, so the loan papers and the appraisal describe the same machines.
- Turnaround
- A report is usually ready 7 to 10 business days after the photos and records arrive. A single machine or a short list can be rushed to 24 to 48 hours. Travel for an inspection takes longer.
- Fee
- Starting at $295. The length of the list, a visit in person and a rush each add to it.
- Property tax on equipment
- Texas counties tax business equipment. The owner reports it each year on a form called a rendition, due April 15. In Travis County it goes to the Travis Central Appraisal District, and a request sent in writing or by email before April 15 moves the date to May 15. Owners whose equipment is worth no more than $125,000 file a short certification in place of the rendition. Travis Central Appraisal District
What is particular to equipment in the Austin area?
Long highway projects, the quarries of Williamson County, and the tax rules for businesses that sell heavy equipment.
Construction fleets on long projects
The Texas Department of Transportation is rebuilding Interstate 35 through Austin in three sections, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is expanding its terminal. Jobs like these can keep cranes, excavators and paving machines on one site for a long stretch, and the hours on a machine climb faster than its age suggests. Two excavators from the same model year can be far apart in hours. Send the meter reading and the service records for each one.
Quarries and haul trucks in Williamson and Hays counties
Williamson County says it has more quarries than any other county in Texas. Martin Marietta runs its North Austin Quarry at Georgetown, and Texas Lehigh makes cement at Buda. The loaders and haul trucks inside a quarry are one kind of equipment. The dump trucks and dump trailers that haul rock to job sites are another, and for those the road miles and the state of the dump bed and the hoist that lifts it matter most.
Heavy equipment dealers
A business that sells heavy equipment is taxed on its inventory, meaning the machines it holds for sale, in a different way from other owners. The Travis Central Appraisal District asks dealers for a Dealer’s Heavy Equipment Inventory Declaration by February 1. The dealer’s own trucks, forklifts and shop equipment still go on a rendition by April 15. If you are a dealer, say which units are inventory and which are yours to use.
What clients have said
“I have reviewed the appraisal and everything looks great! You exceeded my expectations and completed the appraisal in a short time which is much appreciated.”
“Looks perfect, thank you!”
“Thank you for your prompt communication.”
What equipment gets appraised around Austin?
Heavy equipment of nearly every kind, whether it is one machine or a whole fleet.
Cranes
Crawler cranes, rough-terrain cranes and boom trucks. Say which boom sections and attachments go with the crane, and include its latest inspection report.
Earthmoving
Excavators, dozers, scrapers, motor graders and wheel loaders. A photo of the hour meter belongs with each one.
Paving and concrete
Asphalt pavers, rollers, concrete pavers and portable batch plants. Note what was rebuilt and when.
Dump trucks and trailers
Dump trucks, dump trailers and the low flatbed trailers that move machines. Send the VIN, the mileage and a photo of the bed.
Quarry and aggregate
Crushers, screens, rock trucks and loaders. List a plant’s main components one by one.
Farm and ranch
Tractors, hay equipment and stock trailers from Bastrop and Caldwell counties and the farm country east of Interstate 35.
If you do not see your equipment here, name it on the quote form.
How do I choose an equipment appraiser for an Austin fleet?
Do they know what a long highway job does to a machine?
A machine that has spent years on one Austin highway job carries more hours than its model year suggests. Ask how the appraiser weighs hours against age, and whether your service records change the answer.
Will a dealer’s inventory and its working equipment be kept apart?
Travis County taxes a heavy equipment dealer’s inventory and the dealer’s own working equipment under two different filings. Ask whether the report can show the two groups separately.
Will the report arrive before the county deadline or the closing?
Renditions in Travis, Williamson and Hays counties are due April 15, and a lender’s closing date does not move either. Get the delivery date in writing with the quote.
Which Austin offices and courts deal with equipment values?
County appraisal districts. The Travis Central Appraisal District on East Anderson Lane, the Williamson Central Appraisal District in Georgetown and the Hays Central Appraisal District each decide what business equipment in their county is taxed on. An owner who disagrees with that value can protest it, which means asking the district to review it, and an appraisal is evidence in that review. Travis Central Appraisal District
County tax offices. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has its headquarters in Austin, but a title for a trailer is applied for at the county tax office, known as the tax assessor-collector.
Federal courts. Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties all belong to the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas, whose clerk is at 501 West Fifth Street. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the district hears Austin cases in the Homer J. Thornberry Federal Judicial Building on San Jacinto Boulevard.
What do you need from me?
- A list of the equipment, with the make, model and model year of each piece.
- The serial number or VIN of each piece, and its hours or miles.
- Photos of each piece from all sides, plus the serial plate and the meter.
- Service and rebuild records, if you keep them.
- The name of the lender, court, buyer or district the report is for, and the date they need it.
Which Central Texas towns are covered?
Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, including:
- Austin
- Round Rock
- Georgetown
- Cedar Park
- Leander
- Pflugerville
- Hutto
- Taylor
- Jarrell
- Liberty Hill
- Manor
- Lakeway
- Kyle
- Buda
- San Marcos
- Dripping Springs
- Bastrop
- Elgin
- Smithville
- Lockhart
- Luling
The SBA lists Travis County under its San Antonio office. San Antonio equipment appraiser
Burleson County, next to Bryan, is in the federal court’s Austin Division. College Station and Bryan equipment appraisal
The federal district clerk for Lampasas County is in Austin. equipment appraisal in Killeen and Temple
What else do Austin owners want to know?
What decides the price of an equipment appraisal in Austin?
How long the list is, whether someone has to inspect the equipment and how soon you need the report. You get one fixed figure by email before anything is owed.
Which SBA district office covers Austin?
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lists Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties under its San Antonio District Office. Your lender makes the loan and tells you what the appraisal has to include. One SBA rule matters for equipment. Its 504 program, which finances buildings and long-lived equipment, requires an on-site inspection for used equipment that does not come from an equipment dealer, and for equipment being refinanced.
Where does used equipment sell around Austin?
Online and through dealers. Ritchie Bros. has sold machines located in Austin, Jarrell, Cedar Park and Hutto through its online auctions, and Holt Cat, the Caterpillar dealer, has a store on South Interstate 35 in Austin.
Can equipment be appraised while it is working on a job site?
Yes. A desktop appraisal needs photos and meter readings, and an operator can take those at the start of a shift. When the report calls for an inspection, the visit is arranged with you ahead of time.
Ask for an Austin equipment appraisal quote
Cranes, earthmoving and paving fleets, dump trucks, quarry equipment and farm machinery, appraised for owners, lenders, courts and buyers in Austin and the four counties around it. Four questions on the form, and the quote is in your inbox.