Appraisal myths debunked

It is enforced by the government that an appraiser is required to be state-licensed to produce appraisals for federally-related home transactions in Arizona. The law entitles you to acquire a copy of your completed appraisal report from your lender after it has been produced. Contact us if you have any questions about the appraisal procedure.

Myth: The value that is ascertained by the appraiser will be exactly the same as the market value.

Fact: While most states uphold the concept that assessed value is equal to estimated market value, this commonly is not the case. Examples include when interior reconstruction has occurred and the assessor is unaware of the improvements, or when properties in the vicinity have not been reassessed for an extended period of time.

Myth: Depending on whether the appraisal is produced for the buyer or the seller, the opinion of value of the home will vary.

Fact: The appraiser has no personal interest in the outcome of the appraisal report and should complete his job with independence, objectivity and impartiality - no matter for whom the appraisal is provided.

Myth: Any time market value is found, it should equal the replacement cost of the property.

Fact: Without any suggestion from any outside parties to buy or sell, market value is what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for a specific house. If the property were reconstructed, the dollar amount required to do so would set the replacement cost.

Myth: Specific methods, such as the price per square foot of the property, are the ways appraisers use to determine the value of a property.

Fact: An appraisal is an assertion of information based on the property's size, location, proximity to some facilities, the condition of the home and the price of recent comparable sales. You can depend on Proper Appraisal Services, LLC's appraisers to be forthright in assessing this data.

Myth: In a powerful economy - when the costs of homes in a given county are reported to be increasing by a certain percentage - the worth of individual houses in the proximity can be expected to increase by that same percentage.

Fact: All appreciation of price is on a one-on-one basis, concluded by data on relevant elements and the data of comparable houses. It makes no difference whether the economy is powerful or bad.

Myth: Just seeing what the house looks like on the outside gives an idea of its cost.

Fact: Home worth is concluded by a number of variables, including location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. As you can see, none of these factors can be derived just by examining the house from the outside.

Myth: Since you're the one paying for the appraisal report when applying for the loan to purchase or refinance your home, you own the ordered appraisal.

Fact: Legally, the report is owned by the lender unless the lender relinquishes their interest in the report. Home buyers must be given a version of the report through request due to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

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

Fact: A consumer should definitely inspect their appraisal; there may be some questions or some concerns with the accuracy of the appraisal that should be addressed. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is an incredible amount of information stored in an appraisal report that could 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 vicinity.