Residential Property Appraisals

If you are selling your home and the buyer is getting a loan to purchase your home, the buyer’s lender will want to know that the money they are lending is safe and that the home is worth the buyer’s purchase price.  To do that, they will need to have a residential appraisal completed on your home.

When the buyer’s agent or your agent make an appointment for us to appraise your residential property, we will measure, take pictures, analyze the structure of your property both inside and outside, and also the many features of your home.  If you have put in improvements such as updating a kitchen or bathroom we will make notes about those upgrades.  If you have added a new deck or pool, we will also add those items to our list.

We will drive around your neighborhood to verify the notes and information we have before we come out for the appraisal.  We will have researched information about recently sold properties in your area before we enter your home.  We will know if the sellers had upgraded their property also.

We will then prepare our report and submit it to the buyer’s lender.  At that time your real estate agent will call you and let you know the results of the appraisal.

Types of Appraisals

Pre-Listing Appraisal Services

Your Realtor® will present you with a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) when you decide to list your property for sale.  The analysis will include the similar properties currently on the market, recently sold properties (and the actual selling price) so that it can be determined what the ‘Listing Price’ for your property will be.  A reasonable ‘Listing Price” is one of the most important factors in selling your property in the least amount of time.

Many sellers also have an appraiser do a complete report.  They recognize the advantages of having a professional appraisal by a licensed appraiser.  The report becomes a negotiating tool once the buyer submits an offer.  You have written proof of your property’s market value.  Your property might be worth more than you think it is so a professional appraiser’s report could be a happy surprise.  Also, it will help to keep the ‘Listing Price’ realistic so that it will sell faster.

Estate Appraisals

If you are acting as an executor of your family member’s estate, it often is very stressful.  One of the first things you do is to get an appraisal to establish Fair Market Value for residential property in the estate.  You then have the facts and figures for meeting IRS and state agency requirements.  If a retroactive appraisal is necessary (date if death differs from date of the appraisal) we are bound by the Uniform Standard of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) which ensures complete confidentiality.

Divorce Appraisals

As the parties in a divorce, you may choose to sell the property and divide the proceeds or you may choose for one of you buy the other out.  Divorce appraisals require a well supported, professional appraisal that is defensible in court.

As an attorney handling a divorce, you may need to have an appraisal to establish fair market value for the real estate involved in the divorce.  The divorce date and the date you order the appraisal may differ.  We follow the procedures and requirements necessary to perform a retroactive appraisal with an effective date and Fair Market Value estimate matching the date of divorce. The ethics provision within the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) binds us with confidentiality, ensuring the fullest degree of discretion