Common myths about appraising

By law, an appraiser is enforced to be state-licensed to offer appraisals for federally-backed purchases. The law gives you the right to acquire a copy of your finished appraisal report from your lender after it has been provided. Contact Hill Appraisal Associates, LLC if you have any questions about the appraisal process.

Myth: Assessed value generally will equate to market value.

Fact: While most states uphold the idea that assessed value equates estimated market value, this generally is not the case. Interior reconstruction that the assessor has not investigated and a dearth of reassessment on nearby houses are excellent examples of why this occurs.

Myth: Depending on whether the appraisal is drawn up for the buyer or the seller, the opinion of value of the property will vary.

Fact: The appraised value of the home does not affect the payment of the appraiser; due to this, the appraiser has no pressured interest in the opinion of value of the home. This means that he will conduct job with impartiality and objectivity regardless for whom the appraisal is created.

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

Fact: The way market value is found is based on what a buyer would likely pay a willing seller for a home without being under pressure from any external party to buy or sell. If the home were rebuilt, the dollar amount needed to do so would make up the replacement cost.

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

Fact: An appraisal is an amalgamation of information concluded from the property's size, location, proximity to undesirable facilities, the condition of the property and the value of recent comparable sales. You can count on Hill Appraisal Associates, LLC's appraisers to be ethical in assessing this data.

Myth: In a robust economy - when the values of properties in a given region are found to be rising by a particular percentage - the worth of individual properties in the proximity can be expected to increase by that same percentage.

Fact: All increase of value is on a one-on-one basis, found by data on relevant elements and the data of comparable homes. It makes no difference whether the economy is robust or terrible.

Myth: The home's exterior is determinate of the actual value of the house; it is unnecessary to do an interior inspection.

Fact: To conclude an accurate value beyond all doubt, an appraiser must examine the house on a variety of factors based on area, condition, improvements, amenities, and current market trends. There's no real way to get all of this information from simply viewing the home from the exterior.

Myth: Because the consumer is the party who provides the funding to pay for the appraisal when applying for a loan for any real estate transaction, by law the appraisal belongs to them.

Fact: Unless a lender releases its vestment in the report, it is legally owned by the lending company that ordered the appraisal. By the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, any consumer asking for a copy of the document must be provided with it by their lending agency.

Myth: There's no point for consumers to even care about what the report contains so long as their lender is fine with the contents therein.

Fact: It is a very good idea for consumers to check over a copy of their report so that they can double-check the accuracy of the document, in case it's required to question its accuracy. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. An appraisal can serve as a record for the future, as it contains an exorbitant amount of information - 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.