Appraisal myths & facts

Legally, a real estate appraiser is required to be state certified to produce legitimate appraisal reports for federally-supported sales. The law allows you to get a copy of your completed report from your lending agency after it has been provided. Contact Appraisal Services of Brandon, Inc . if you have any questions about the appraisal process.

Myth: Market value will be equivocal to the assessed value of the property.

Fact: While most states uphold the suggestion that assessed value is the same as estimated market value, this often is not the case. Usually when interior remodeling has been done and the assessor is not aware of the improvement or other homes in the area have not been reassessed for quite a while, it may vary wildly.

Myth: Depending on if the appraisal is written for the buyer or the seller, the cost of the property will vary.

Fact: The price of the home does not affect the salary of the appraiser; as a result, the appraiser has no personal interest in the cost of the house. This means that he will conduct services with impartiality and objectivity regardless for whom the appraisal is provided.

Myth: Market value should equal replacement cost.

Fact: Market value is acquired by what a willing buyer would likely pay a willing seller for a particular property, with neither being under undue influence to buy or sell. The replacement cost is the dollar amount necessary to reconstruct a property in-kind.

Myth: Certain formulae, like the price per square foot, are what appraisers use to come to the value of a property.

Fact: An appraisal report is an assertion of data concluded from the home's size, location, proximity to specific facilities, the condition of the property and the value of recent comparable sales. You can rely on Appraisal Services of Brandon, Inc .'s staff to be ethical in assessing this data.

Myth: When the economy is strong and the cost of properties are found to be increasing by a certain percentage, the other homes in the proximity can be expected to rise based on that same percentage.

Fact: Any value at which an appraiser concludes in regards to a specific house is always personalized, based on certain factors found from the information of comparable homes and other specifications within the property itself. It makes no difference whether the economy is strong or terrible.

Myth: You can usually tell what a home is worth simply by looking at the exterior.

Fact: To find an accurate price beyond all doubt, an appraiser must examine the property on a variety of factors based on area, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. An exterior inspection certainly can't provide all of the data necessary.

Myth: Since you're the one providing the money for the appraisal report when applying for the loan to purchase or refinance real estate, you own the ordered appraisal report.

Fact: Unless a lending agency releases its interest in the report, it is legally owned by the lending company that ordered the appraisal. Because of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, any home buyer demanding a copy of the appraisal report must be provided with one by their lending company.

Myth: It doesn't matter to consumers what's in the appraisal report so long as it meets the necessities of their lending agency.

Fact: Only if home buyers examine a copy of their appraisal can they ensure its accuracy and possibly need to question the result. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. An appraisal report can serve as a record for the future, containing an incredible amount of data - including, but not limited to 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.