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FAQs & Links
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is an appraisal?
- Often for legal or loan approval
purposes, folks unfamiliar with the property need to have an
outside reference of its value in the marketplace:
- The bank takes caution to look at the
house in a "worst-case" scenario: "If the buyer couldn't
keep up payments and the money had to be resold by the bank
in 60 days, what would be its value to a complete stranger?"
Even though buyer and seller may agree on the price, if a
bank is going to provide a loan for that house, it needs to
know this value, and it will risk providing 80% of the
financing.
- In Family Law, when a marriage ends in
divorce, both sides need to know the value of the home, so
they can settle and split up their valuable assets.
- When Grandma passes away, her home of 50
years needs to be divided up or sold by her children. An
independent appraiser will provide a document that the
courts and probate officials will accept, so that all
parties can accept an independent valuation.
2. How is an appraisal developed?
- The appraisal is the whole process of
valuing the house. First, research is developed, to find out
the legal records, size of the lot, home owner dues,
location, age, and features of the subject property.
- Then more research is needed to find
similar properties that have recently sold, or are currently
on the market. These are then evaluated to provide a
background awareness of the area.
- The appraiser then schedules an
inspection, to measure and record the size and features of
the property. We typically take pictures of the front and
back of the house and one of the street that is located on.
Often we take photos of the interior features, including the
living room fireplace, kitchen appliances, a typical bath,
pool, spa, views, stables, etc. This usually takes from 30
to 90 minutes. Recent sales and current listings of similar
properties from the neighborhood are then evaluated from the
street, without an interior inspection, and pictures of them
are taken from the street.
- The appraiser takes these pictures, his
sketch, and the other information, and develops a report
from his office. This is the most important part, as all his
experience and judgment is necessary to produce a clear,
well organized document that the family, the lenders, or the
courts will accept as the best estimate of current (or
historical) market value.
- The final document includes approximately
20 pages, and it also includes color photos of the subject
and the similar properties. It is then delivered to the
client, often personally, For out of town clients, the
overnight shipping resources are used. The whole process
usually takes about a week, although special rush orders can
often b e done in a day or two.
Useful Resource Links:
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