Homeowners should be aware of appraisers, and what they do. Although most homeowners may have had an experience with appraisers, not all necessarily have a chance to interact with one. Some homeowners may not even think about appraisers, appraisals, and how they affect them during some important transactions.

During a purchase

A typical homeowner may not ever really notice an appraiser when purchasing a residential property.  Even if the homeowner finances the home through a typical lender or mortgage broker, and an appraisal is required by that entity for the loan, the appraiser would inspect the home prior to the actual purchase.  This is done by contacting a listing broker, if sold via a local MLS, or by contacting the current owner to facilitate an appointment for property inspection.

If a property is vacant, or the listing broker shows the home to the appraiser when the sellers are not present, that is one more lost opportunity to see an appraiser in person. Unless there was an issue of a value lower than the sale price, which isn’t exactly uncommon these days, the buyer would never have a reason to even consider the appraisal.

After purchasing

That same buyer whom did not interact with the appraiser when purchasing and originally financing their home, may not run into an appraiser if they choose to refinance their home subsequently. Depending on the specifics of the loan, including type, length of term, and amount, and the homeowner’s credit worthiness, an appraiser may not need to perform an interior inspection of the property.

3 ways an appraiser will benefit homeowners:

• Appraisers offer valuation products including exterior only appraisals, commonly referred to as drive-by appraisals. In some cases an appraisal isn’t even required for the transaction. Although it would be commonly thought that a lender would want an appraisal to protect the health of the loan, it may not be required depending on the specifics.
• Appraisers can provide helpful and insightful services for the typical homeowner that do not involve a lender or mortgage broker.  Around this time of year taxes are a subject in the foreground for many families, including homeowners. As part of the process of appealing the property taxes imposed by the local town via the assessor a homeowner may hire an appraiser. In such an example the homeowner may hire the appraiser to take a look at the assessment, looking for errors in the data including the description of the home. An appraiser may even perform an appraisal as part of the tax appeal process. I will be sure to go into detail regarding tax appeals in my next blog post.
• By contacting an appraiser prior to undertaking any home renovations, a real estate appraiser can provide consulting of a professional nature, based on your local market. An appraiser will research your local real estate market for specific data regarding an upgrade or addition and how it affects value. As an example a typical homeowner may want to add a deck to increase the value of their home. An appraiser can tell you whether or not it is cost effective to do! With the popularity of real estate themed shows on TV, and a lot of talk regarding remodeling and increasing the value of a home it is important to consider what an appraiser can do for you. It is typical for these shows to feature a real estate agent, designer, or builder who make claims of increased value as a result of an upgrade, addition, or remodel. These are just a few aspects to think about when looking at the benefits of hiring a real estate appraiser.

If you have a real estate question it is probably one that a local professional real estate appraiser can help you with. Don’t hesitate to contact one next time you do!