URGENT: NEED ADVICE ASAP

[pennytrains]

I talked to Social Security today about Supplemental Security Income payments and they want a written third party appraisal of my collection before I can get the money I need.

Any advice on how to get this done, preferably for free, would be greatly appreciated!

By the way, this isn't about selling but rather finding replacement value just as you would for insurance purposes.

[Laurastom]

To qualify for this Supplemental program the limit for countable resources is $2,000. The SS site has the descriptions and the list of items that are not counted. The collection will be counted to determine eligibility. You want as low a value as possible, like the fully depreciated value that would be used in a quick scale, not the replacement value.

They might accept a valuation from a TCA member. If not a toy train dealer should suffice.

[ADCX Rob]

When do a bunch of toys tip the scale to become a collection? I have lots of toys, trains included, nothing amounting to a collection though. Just stuff to play with.

How would the SSA even become aware of my toys?

[smokey1]

ADCX Rob

When do a bunch of toys tip the scale to become a collection? I have lots of toys, trains included, nothing amounting to a collection though. Just stuff to play with.

How would the SSA even become aware of my toys? 

Exactly, 99% chance they are not going to come out, did you tell them how many trains you have? did you tell them you had trains, if so find like 3 or 4 sets of the cheapest marx and have someone evaluate them. If you show stuff like what you make, to you and the rest of us thats great stuff, to most it's just toys not a real collection. ( and I would love to have some of what you have made, to me your a great artist. )

[pennytrains]

They asked, I answered.

[POTRZBE]

A bunch of anything is an asset. If you control the asset then you can sell it. If you sell it you presumably have cash in your pocket. Cash beyond a certain limit puts you over scale for many government programs.