Beaumont and Port Arthur Equipment Appraisal
Southeast Texas heavy equipment, valued by a certified equipment appraiser. Starting at $295.
Beaumont and Port Arthur equipment appraisal is a certified valuation of the heavy equipment behind Southeast Texas refinery, port and liquefied natural gas (LNG) work, such as cranes, lifts, welding machines and haul trucks, and of farm machinery from the rice and cattle country around them. A contractor selling equipment after a plant job, a bank lending on a crane and an insurer settling a loss each need that value in writing.
- One report can list equipment kept in Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties.
- A desktop appraisal uses your photos and records, so equipment on a plant site stays where it is.
- When a bank or a court requires it, the equipment is inspected in person.
- Reports are written to USPAP, the appraisal standard. The signer is a CMEA, a Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraiser.
- A fixed fee and a delivery date come by email before you decide.
- USPAP-compliant
- Signed by a CMEA
- Rated 5.0 on Google
How do I get equipment appraised in Beaumont or Port Arthur?
1. Tell the form how many pieces
One, a few, or a whole yard. The form then asks whether the equipment has to be seen, the city it is in and when you need the report.
2. Get a fixed quote
The fee and the delivery date arrive by email.
3. Send what you have on each piece
Once you accept, email photos of each piece with its serial plate, hour meter and inspection tag, plus any service records. The signed report is sent back the same way.
What should a Southeast Texas owner know first?
- A different federal district
- Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties are in the Eastern District of Texas, not the Southern District that Houston is in. Federal cases here go to the Beaumont Division, at the Jack Brooks Federal Building on Willow Street.
- SBA loans
- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) handles all three counties from its Houston District Office.
- Property tax on equipment
- Each spring a Texas business files a rendition, the form that lists its equipment for the county. April 15 is the due date, and a request made by then extends it to May 15. The Jefferson Central Appraisal District’s notice says farm producers do not have to file one. Jefferson Central Appraisal District
- The two values
- Fair market value is the selling price when neither side is pressed. Orderly liquidation value is the price if the equipment had to go within a few months. A lender will usually ask for each.
- Delivery time
- Once your photos and records land, the report usually takes 7 to 10 business days. For one machine or two, a 24 to 48 hour rush can be arranged. Inspections in person add time.
- Fee
- Starting at $295. More pieces, an inspection or a rush raise it.
What is particular to equipment in Beaumont and Port Arthur?
Plant work that comes in waves, ports and shipyards on two rivers, and rice and cattle country inland.
Equipment that follows plant work
Motiva and Valero run refineries in Port Arthur and ExxonMobil runs one in Beaumont. Golden Pass has begun exporting liquefied natural gas from its plant at Sabine Pass, and Port Arthur LNG is being built. ExxonMobil says the number of contractors at its Beaumont plant depends on construction and turnaround activity. A turnaround is a planned shutdown when a plant is repaired. Equipment that works turnarounds can sit between them, so a machine’s hours may be low for its age. Send the meter readings, because age alone can mislead.
Ports and shipyards
The Port of Beaumont describes itself as both an operator and a landlord, and Conrad Shipyard has a yard on the Sabine River in Orange. If your equipment works on port or shipyard land, say whether you own it outright or it came with a lease.
Rice and cattle country
Jefferson County grows rice and runs cattle. Rice ground is wet ground, and combines and tractors that work it show the mud in their tires, tracks and bearings. Photograph the undercarriage and the cutting head, called the header, that goes with each combine.
What clients have said
“Thanks Rhett. I appreciate the quick turnaround!”
“Thanks for the speed of response.”
“This looks good. I am reporting now and will pass it to the carrier rep who may have questions.”
What equipment do you appraise in Southeast Texas?
Heavy equipment from the plants, the docks and the farms, from one machine to a contractor’s full yard.
Cranes
Crawler and rough-terrain cranes and boom trucks. Send the last inspection report and the boom length.
Lifts and telehandlers
Boom lifts, scissor lifts and telehandlers, which are forklifts with a telescoping boom. The inspection tag and the hour meter go in the photos.
Welding and plant support
Welding machines, compressors, generators and light towers, each listed by its serial number.
Trucks and trailers
Haul trucks, vacuum trucks, lowboy trailers and tank trailers, with the VIN and mileage of each.
Farm machinery
Rice combines, tractors and hay equipment from Jefferson County, with the headers that belong to each combine.
Port and yard equipment
Reach stackers, forklifts and yard tractors from the docks. Photograph the mast or boom and the tires.
Something else? Name it on the form.
How do I choose an appraiser for Southeast Texas equipment?
Do they read hours as well as age?
Equipment that follows plant shutdowns can sit for months between jobs. Ask how the appraiser weighs a ten-year-old crane with few hours against a newer one that never stopped.
Do they ask who owns what on the dock?
On port land a machine may belong to the port, a tenant or a contractor. An appraiser should ask for proof of ownership before putting a value on it.
Will the report stand up in the federal court in Beaumont?
Cases from these three counties go to the Eastern District. Ask whether the report follows USPAP and carries a signed certification, because an unsigned estimate will not help you there.
Which Beaumont and Port Arthur offices read an appraisal?
The appraisal districts. The Jefferson Central Appraisal District on South 4th Street in Beaumont, the Orange County Appraisal District in Orange and the Hardin County Appraisal District in Kountze each appraise business equipment in their own county for tax. Port Arthur reaches into Orange County, so check which district a yard falls in. Orange County Appraisal District
The bankruptcy court. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas has its Beaumont office in the Jack Brooks Federal Building and takes cases from all three counties.
Banks and insurers. A lender wants a certified value before it lends against equipment. After a hurricane, an insurance adjuster wants one for each damaged piece.
What do I send for a Southeast Texas appraisal?
- An equipment list with make, model and year.
- Serial numbers or VINs, and the meter reading on each piece.
- Photos of every side, the serial plate, the meter and the inspection tag.
- Proof of ownership for anything kept on port or plant property.
- The name of the bank, court or insurer the report is for.
Which Southeast Texas towns do you cover?
Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties, including:
- Beaumont
- Port Arthur
- Nederland
- Groves
- Port Neches
- Orange
- Vidor
- Bridge City
- West Orange
- Pinehurst
- Lumberton
- Silsbee
- Kountze
- Sour Lake
- China
- Nome
The SBA office for Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties is in Houston. Houston equipment appraisal
Tyler is another division of the Eastern District of Texas. equipment appraisal in Tyler
What else do owners ask a Beaumont or Port Arthur equipment appraiser?
Can a crane be appraised while it is on a refinery job?
Yes. A desktop appraisal works from photos and records taken on site by someone who already has access. An inspection in person needs the plant’s clearance first.
Where can used equipment be sold near Beaumont?
The Caterpillar dealer serving the Beaumont area is Mustang Cat, and Ritchie Bros. has sold machines located in Beaumont and Port Arthur at auction.
My yard is in Port Arthur but the equipment works in Orange County. Who taxes it?
Ask both districts before you file. The Jefferson Central and Orange County appraisal districts each appraise the equipment kept in their own county, and where a machine counts as kept when it moves between a yard and a job is theirs to decide.
Do you appraise equipment after a storm or a fire?
Yes. An insurance claim usually needs the value of each piece just before the loss. Send whatever records and photos survived, and tell us which pieces were damaged.
Request your Beaumont or Port Arthur appraisal quote
Cranes, lifts, welding equipment, trucks, port equipment and farm machinery in Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties, appraised for owners, banks, insurers and courts. The form is four questions long, and your quote follows by email.