Appraisal myths & facts

It is required by legal agencies that a real estate appraiser must be state-licensed to create appraisal reports for federally-supported real estate sales in California. You also have the right to request a copy of the finished appraisal report from your lender. Contact Wulf Appraisal Corp. if you have any questions about the appraisal procedure.

Myth: Assessed value should equate to market value.

Fact: This is not often the case; most states do support the concept that the assessed value is the same as market value, but not always. Generally when interior remodeling has been done and the assessor is has not investigated the improvement or other homes in the Clovis have not been reassessed for quite a while, it may vary wildly.

Myth: The opinion of value of a home will change depending upon whether the appraisal is conducted for the buyer or the seller.

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

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

Fact: Without any suggestion from any different parties to buy or sell, market value is what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for a specific home. The replacement cost is the dollar amount necessary to reconstruct a home in-kind.

Myth: Certain formulae, such as the price per square foot, are the ways appraisers use to determine the cost of a house.

Fact: Appraisers make a full analysis of all factors in consideration to the cost of a property, including its location, condition, size, proximity to facilities and recent values of comparable homes.

Myth: When the economy is on the rise and the value of houses are found to be increasing by a certain percentage, the other houses in the neighborhood can be expected to appreciate based on that same percentage.

Fact: All increase of worth is on a one-on-one basis, found by data on relevant considerations and the data of comparable houses. It doesn't matter if the economy is doing well or declining.

Myth: The home's outside is determinate of the actual price of the house; it is unnecessary to do an interior appraisal.

Fact: House worth is concluded by a number of factors, including - but not limited to - location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. An external inspection definitely can't provide all of the data necessary.

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

Fact: Legally, the appraisal report is owned by the lending agency unless the lender releases their interest in the report. 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 agency.

Myth: There's no reason for home buyers to even concern themselves with what the report contains so long as their lending institution is satisfied.

Fact: Only if home buyers look over a copy of their report can they verify its accuracy and possibly need to question the result. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is a great deal of data contained in an report that can 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.