The Appraisal Process

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: Image by cfinke via Flickr

Recently we have been getting more and more inquiries from homeowners asking about appraisals. Their interests range from determining market value for listing purposes to tax disputes. They want to know what’s involved in performing an appraisal. They seem to want to know what they get for their money…. imagine that!!

Other inquiries coming in are from Buyers. They want to find an appraiser that is familiar with the local market (a subject for another time!). Still others contact us simply to get an idea of the cost of an appraisal. Some have admitted that they were comparing what we tell them to what they have been told by their Lender (also a subject for another time!).

After much thought it was decided that a step by step explanation may be of value to the individuals as well as possibly giving the professionals a better understanding of what we as appraisers do.

Of course, determining how to present the steps became the next decision to be made. After much consideration, it was thought to be a wise decision to present the process as a series. Why? Primarily because we didn’t want to risk the post being used as a sleeping aid. Our profession is not all that glamorous!!

Therefore we chose to detail the work to complete a 1004 appraisal (an appraisal which is commonly used for determining market value for various uses) using a three part series following the outline below. We feel it will keep the interest of those who want to know the process without dragging it out. Other appraisal types involve similar work, however the 1004 most likely is the one that most people have seen.

Outline

Due Diligence: data retrieval prior to the inspection.
Inspection: interior and exterior evaluation of the Subject property and exterior inspection of the comparables.
Reconciliation: analyzing and reporting the data to render an opinion of value.

It is our intention to help you understand what an appraiser does and how we get to an opinion of value for you.

Please look for the beginning of our series tomorrow……