fire damage

Wimblees@aol.com Wimblees@aol.com
Sat, 9 Nov 2002 20:09:35 EST


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In a message dated 11/9/02 10:21:06 AM Central Standard Time, 
pamodell@gwi.net writes:

> Is the verdict in yet on smoke damaged pianos?  I visited a Young Chang
> grand yesterday that has visible damage all over the action, corrosion on
> the strings, soot on the hammers and felt parts, and they say they have
> "cleaned it up"
> 

Pam

My verdict on smoke damaged pianos is that the piano should be put back in 
the condition it was in before the fire. This is s Young Chang. I don't know 
how old the piano is, but it probably isn't more than 25 years old. In which 
case, the piano was probably in pretty good condition. No corrosion on the 
string, action parts in good condition (maybe a little wear on the hammers), 
case parts still clean. 


The people who donated the piano to the church should have had it rebuilt 
before giving it to the church, and the insurance company should have paid to 
have the work done. But, as Terry pointed out, the cost of doing that most 
likely would have been more than the piano was worth. Therefore, they 
probably would have paid for anew piano. And would the owners be willing to 
give a new piano to the church? Probably not. 

When someone give something to a church for tax purposes, under normal 
circumstances, the appraised value should be something close to what that 
item could be sold for in a store. A reputable dealer would not sell an 
instrument that was in a fire on the open market. If they took the piano in 
trade, they wouldn't give anything for it, and they might wholesale it for 
maybe $100. Since the piano needs a total overhaul, in my opinion, for tax 
purposes, the piano is worth just that. 

Willem Blees RPT

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