A professional appraisal is a supportable opinion of value. It is not the personal feelings of the appraiser. In essence, it is a supportable prediction of what your house would sell for if offered on the marketplace for a reasonable length of time.
1. This is an appraisal of the real estate, not of your housekeeping! Unless it is a matter of your personal concern, it is not necessary to perform an extraordinary amount of cleaning, etc.
2. There are minimal document requirements; a correct legal description from a deed or survey and an Assessor's tax parcel number are necessary. These are normally provided by the lender or the title company.
3. Most appraisers set up a time range for appointments; please be patient. A prior appointment may have required additional time due to unforeseen circumstances.
4. Know ahead of time whether the appraiser is to be paid at the time of inspection or by some other arrangement.
5. If you have pets, please be prepared to control them.
The most common observation made by homeowners is, "How can they charge so much, when they spend so little time at my house?" In reality what you see is but a small portion of the appraisal process ... the inspection.
During the inspection the appraiser will most likely measure the exterior walls, take photographs, walk through the home, and ask a number of questions relating to the improvements.
Most residential appraisals require substantial amounts of research before the appraiser even leaves the office. For example, the major lenders require the appraiser to verify market information, replacement cost data, and neighborhood trends. So, a twenty minute inspection on-site cannot reveal the two, three, or more hours which may ultimately be committed before the appraisal report is completed. For this reason, the appraiser is not prepared to discuss any conclusions concerning the value of your home at the time of inspection.
Location, location, location is the basic ingredient to value, and verify, verify, verify is the basic stuff of appraising. Good work does take time! Your appraiser should know prior to accepting the assignment what the deadlines are and to whom he/she should report the value.
You say you paid for the appraisal, but the appraiser would not give you the value? Well, it is probably because the appraisal was ordered by your lender, or lawyer, or accountant (even though you paid to have it done). It is against the appraiser's code of ethics to disclose anything to anyone other than the client REQUESTING the appraisal unless specifically instructed to do so in writing.
Since value is measured in the marketplace it can be very fickle. Your home tends to be an extension of your personal tastes; so even though you may have spent a considerable amount of money on decorating, the typical buyer would not pay more for it. In fact, a prospective buyer may want a reduction in sales price, allowing more for the buyer's own decorating costs. Dollar for dollar expenses to add the "little extras" so often do not increase the value dollar for dollar, but may add to marketability.
Do not forget that your appraiser is only human. Sharing information which may not be available to the appraiser may be mutually beneficial. We are the first to realize that without you and your home, we have no business. Thank you for your cooperation.
Cochise Appraisal Service, LLP. 3965 East Foothils, Suite E-1, Sierra Vista AZ 85635
PHONE: (520) 459-3255 FAX: (520) 459-3352 orders@cochiseappraisal.com
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