How can we determine the real value of real estate properties in this time of the market situation?

You can always hire a professional real estate appraise to give you his opinion of propert values, or, less expensviely, you can check on the value at which the properties are assessed by the property appraiser (by whatever name he is called) in the country where the property is located. Understand that not all states require 100% assessment; therefore, if you know the percentage of value used (like 60%, say) you can use that a basis for a calculation and a SWAG. (If you know your state uses a fractional valuation, then the reciprocal of the value should approximate the real value.) The real question is this: are you going to pool your money, and is he going to convey a 1/2 interest in the properties to you? Otherwise, most state treat assets owned prior to marriage as "separate Property" even in community property states (Pennsylvania is not a community property state) Are you doing it yourself, or do you have a lawyer drafting the pre-nup. You may find that the lawyer is worth every penny he charges!

There are several ways to look at real estate values these days. One is the tried and true appraisal by a licensed appraiser. The cost is likely to be several hundred dollars for each property. Another is to look at the latest tax valuation and compare taxable values. Many counties now have online tax searches where you can plug in an address and obtain tax information. Now, I am not sure I would believe that the assessor’s number is always correct but it could provide you with a ball park from which to close the gap in your understanding of values. In some states the assessed value may be different than the market value. To deal with this try to find what you both agree is a comparable home that sold in the past few months, determine the sales price and then compare the taxable values to come up with a ballpark figure. Some states adjust the taxable value each year and thus tend to be closer to reality but generally error on the lower side. Other states simply apply a multiplier and if the valuation was wrong to start with then it is probably way off after a few multipliers have been applied. A third way is to use one of the internet sites such as Home Gain which gathers some of the sales data for the street on which the home you are trying to value. The problem with this technique is that it is like an appraiser doing a drive by appraisal. Homes on the outside may look the same but interior finish, modernizations, care and upkeep can all be huge factors in valuation. That is the benefit of an appraiser, they have a general knowledge of finish quality, care and upkeep that they can apply to an appraisal. A fourth is a rule of thumb using replacement cost. There are two problems with this metod. One is that with the current down housing market with its short sales and foreclosures houses currently being built or built in the past few years may have a market value significantly less than the original cost. In the markets that were hot two years ago the losses are likely to be the highest. In the Southwestern Utah area some homes may have lost 25% or more of their cost from a year or two ago. Then, even if you could agree on replacement cost and a market value factor you still have to use one of the above methods to add the land cost to the discounted building cost. Also, I agree with the previous person who answered this question. If you are drafting this up yourself then there may be that there are no guarantees that any of what you draft will be binding. A lot has to deal with making sure each party has the same benefit of advice and counsel. So, if this is a key item, then you may want to hire a qualified attorney to do the drafting for you and he can help arbitrate the valuations. If the values being brought to the union are significant, a few thousand dollares for an attorney and appraiser should be of little concern.