Common myths about appraising

Legally, an appraiser needs to be state certified to produce substantiated real estate appraisals for federally-supported sales. The law gives you the right to acquire a copy of your finished report from your lender after it has been produced. Contact The Caldwell Group if you have any questions about the appraisal process.

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

Fact: This usually isn't true; most states do support the idea that the assessed value is the same as market value, but not always. Examples include when interior reconstruction has happened and the assessor has not seen the improvements, or when homes in the vicinity have not been reassessed for an prolonged period of time.

Myth: Depending on if the appraisal is produced for the buyer or the seller, the appraised value of the house will vary.

Fact: The price of the house does not affect the salary of the appraiser; as such, the appraiser has no vested interest in the cost of the home. Obviously, he will conduct job with impartiality and objectivity regardless for whom the appraisal is produced.

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

Fact: The way market value is found is based on what a buyer would be willing to pay a willing seller for a home without being under pressure from any outside party to buy or sell. If the home were reconstructed, the dollar amount required to do so would set the replacement cost.

Myth: There are certain ways that appraisers use to determine the opinion of value of a home, such as the price per square foot.

Fact: An appraisal report is an amalgamation of information concluded from the property's size, location, proximity to specific facilities, the condition of the house and the worth of recent comparable sales. You can rely on The Caldwell Group's staff to be professional in assessing this information.

Myth: When the economy is robust and the worth of properties are reported to be rising by a certain percentage, the other properties in the area can be expected to appreciate based on that same percentage.

Fact: Worth increase of a certain home must be concluded on a case-by-case basis, factoring in information on comparable houses and other relevant considerations. This is true in fair economic times as well as poor.

Myth: The property's exterior is determinate of the actual worth of the home; there is no need to do an interior inspection.

Fact: House worth is concluded by a multitude of variables, including - but not limited to - location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. An external inspection obviously can't provide all of the data needed.

Myth: Since you're the one funding for the appraisal when applying for your loan to buy or refinance real estate, you own the provided appraisal.

Fact: Unless a lender releases its vestment in the document, it is legally owned by the lending agency that ordered the appraisal. Due the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, any home buyer demanding a copy of the report must be given one by their lender.

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

Fact: A home buyer should definitely look through their appraisal; there may be some questions or some worries about the accuracy of the inspection that must be addressed. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is an incredible amount of data contained in an appraisal that will probably 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 region.