WHO NEEDS APPRAISAL SERVICES?  Real estate appraisals are used for a multitude of purposes.   It could be used for estate tax purposes to estimate value at the time of someone's death.   It could be used for gift tax purposes to estimate value at the time of gift.   It could be used in a divorce court to establish value at the time of marriage and/or separation.  It could be used by a homeowner to determine selling price.  However, over 95 percent of residential real estate appraiser's business comes from financial institutions, mortgage brokers and appraisal management companies