Part 1 of this three-part series warned donors and recipients of salvaged building materials about the degree to which unlawful appraisals are hurting the nascent deconstruction and reuse industry.
An appraiser’s written report and valuation depends on photographs and a detailed inventory of the materials received, in reusable condition, by the nonprofit. Deconstruction surveys are conducted for two purposes: 1) to assist the donor in judging the value of their tax benefit against the cost of deconstruction and, 2) to identify and physically mark the specific materials the deconstruction contractor is responsible for delivering to the qualified nonprofit in reuseable condition. Failing to identify and mark the reusable materials during the survey creates a disconnect, in quantity and valuation, between the survey estimate and the final inventory.
A bad (deficient, incompetent, negligent, shoddy) deconstruction contractor is one who:
• Fails to conduct a job walk during or following the survey and, as a result, is unaware of which materials are to be salvaged and unprepared for the careful handling required.
• Under-bids jobs and then skimps on the removal of materials initially designated as reusable, causing the final appraised value to be substantially less than the appraiser estimated.
• Makes unwarranted substitutions, e.g., substitutes a stainless steel sink for a porcelain farm sink broken during removal.
• Fails to deliver certain materials, instead selling them from the job site, pocketing the cash and claiming the materials were damaged.
Deconstruction contractors come from various backgrounds and, unlike building contractors, face no licensing or qualifying requirements beyond those needed for demolition. Furthermore, most homeowners fail to screen the deconstruction contractor the way they would the general contractor who is building their new home, since the former is merely removing unwanted materials.
At TRP, we believe it is the responsibility of every receiving nonprofit to ensure that donors realize the highest possible valuations for donated materials. To that end, we recommend only qualified appraisers whom we have vetted. In addition, we have developed a training program that teaches contractors to follow detailed specifications for the removal, handling and trucking of specific building components. TRP refers only trained and certified contractors to building owners who are contemplating deconstruction and plan to donate the salvaged materials to us.
Other contractors—those who have not completed our training—are certainly welcome to deliver salvaged materials to TRP. However, our warehouse crews are trained to refuse materials that do meet our quality standards or have not been packaged, protected or unitized as required by our written specifications. Instead, the TRP warehouse crew will simply leave those materials on the contractor’s truck, returning disposal responsibility to the contractor.
The easiest way for a donor to gain confidence that a contractor will remove and deliver salvaged materials in optimal condition is to call the receiving nonprofit and ask about the condition of materials previously delivered by that contractor.