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Since a community of heirs initially holds the property jointly, the appraisal report always relates to the entire property and not to individual notional co-ownership shares.
Based on this total value, it is then possible to calculate the amount a co-heir would need to receive if they sold their share to the other co-heirs or were bought out.
In cases of disagreement over utilization – sale, rental, or takeover by one co-heir – the neutral appraisal report frequently forms the only jointly accepted basis for negotiation.
In practice, commissioning an appraisal report usually only requires a majority decision of the community of heirs under § 745 BGB, provided it constitutes a proper administrative measure – unanimity is not strictly required.
The costs of the appraisal report are generally borne jointly by the community of heirs from the estate; a subsequent offsetting against the individual inheritance shares is possible if certain co-heirs refuse to authorize the commission.