Kawai worth

[Bradley M. Snook]

If the information that I have is correct, the KG-2E was produced from
October 1986 to August 1990: that makes the piano at least 12 years old.



Deciding the fair market value of a piano, especially for donation purposes,
can be very difficult to determine; the results can vary dramatically
between appraisers. This is foremost a legal issue that you should discuss
with your attorney. For your own protection I would keep notes on any
conversations you have (like the piano dealer's suggestion of $20k).



The IRS defines the FMV (Fair Market Value) as the price that a willing,
knowledgeable buyer would pay a willing, knowledgeable seller when neither
have to buy or sell.



This says very little about the standards you should use, so you have quite
a bit of room to make your own decisions; just as long as it will still fit
their definition. I made a quick search on the net and found two KG-2Es for
sale that were both in excellent condition: $10,295 and $9,995.00. A current
comparable Kawai might be the RX-2, that if it were the same age and in the
same condition might sell for $16,000. The other thing to consider is that
the FMV should most likely be based on what someone would pay from a dealer.
If a dealer told you that if they had that piano on their floor they would
slap a $20,000 price on the piano, you should really keep that under
consideration; it is not in your best interest to underestimate an
appraisal.



I think that the FMV should be higher than $12,000, even though I agree with
you that the piano might not be 'worth' that much; the legal standards for
FMV and 'worth' are very different.



Bradley M. Snook