Common myths about appraising

By law, an appraiser is required to be state-licensed to offer appraisals for federally-supported sales. The law entitles you to acquire a copy of your finished appraisal from your lending agency after it has been provided. Contact Ralph Real Estate Appraisal, Inc. if you have any concerns about the appraisal process.

Myth: Assessed value generally will be the same as to market value.

Fact: While most states back the idea that assessed value equates estimated market value, this generally is not the case. Usually when interior remodeling has occurred and the assessor is has not investigated the improvement or properties in the Cordova have not been reassessed for quite a while, it may vary wildly.

Myth: The buyer or the seller sometimes may have impact in the value of the home depending upon for whom the appraiser is working.

Fact: The value of the home does not affect the salary of the appraiser; because of this, the appraiser has no personal interest in the opinion of value of the property. Obviously, he will provide services with impartiality and independence regardless for whom the appraisal is conducted.

Myth: The replacement cost of the home is always is on par with the market value.

Fact: Market value is derived from what a willing buyer would likely pay a willing seller for a particular house, with neither being under duress to buy or sell. The replacement cost is the dollar amount necessary to rebuild a house in-kind.

Myth: There are specific methods that appraisers use to show the cost of a house, like the price per square foot.

Fact: There are many different calculations that an appraiser will use to make a detailed analysis of every factor in consideration of the house, such as the size, location, condition, how close it is to specific facilities and the sales price of recently sold comparable properties.

Myth: In a strong economy - when the worth of homes in a given region are found to be increasing by a particular percentage - the costs of individual houses in the vicinity can be expected to increase by that same percentage.

Fact: Any worth at which an appraiser concludes concerning a certain house is always personalized, based on certain factors concluded from the data of comparable houses and other considerations within the property itself. It makes no difference whether the economy is powerful or poor.

Myth: Just examining what the house looks like on its exterior gives a good idea of its worth.

Fact: To find an accurate value beyond all doubt, an appraiser must assess the property on a variety of factors based on location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. Obviously, none of these factors can be derived simply by looking at the property from the outside.

Myth: Because consumers fund appraisals when applying for loans to buy or refinance their house, they legally own their appraisal report.

Fact: Legally, the report is owned by the lending agency unless the lender relinquishes their interest in the document. Because of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, any consumer asking for a copy of the appraisal report must be provided with one by their lending agency.

Myth: It doesn't matter to consumers what's in the appraisal report so long as it satisfies the needs of their lending company.

Fact: It is very important for home buyers to read a copy of their report so that they can double-check the accuracy of the document, in case there is a need to question its accuracy. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is a great deal of data contained in an appraisal that should be useful to the home buyer in the future, such as the legal and physical description of the property, square footage measurements, list of comparable properties in the neighborhood, neighborhood description and a narrative of current real-estate activity and/or market trends in the vicinity.