Real estate

There is a saying in the business world that the value of something is what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. When it comes to real estate both sides normally hire an appraiser to value the property and then they negotiate a final price. With the IRS it is different. They tell the taxpayer to place a value and if they disagree they will not allow it. This is important because depreciation, which is often times the reason the person bought the property, will determine if it is a good investment. The case against Trump is interesting because the claim is that he overvalued his property to get larger loans. The banks who offered the loans did not object to the price and in fact made a profit on the deal. Now, someone other than the buyer or seller, in this case the court has decided the property was overvalued.