Common myths about appraising

Legally, a real estate appraiser is required to be state certified to write substantiated real estate appraisals for federally-backed transactions. The law gives you the right to get a copy of your completed appraisal report from your lender after it has been provided. Contact our professional staff if you have any concerns about the appraisal procedure.

Myth: The value that is assessed by the appraiser is required to be exactly the same as the 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 occurred and the assessor is has not investigated the improvement or other houses in the neighborhood have not been reassessed for a good length of time, it may vary wildly.

Myth: The buyer or the seller can have an influence in the value of the house depending upon for whom the appraiser is working.

Fact: The appraiser has no personal interest in the result of the appraisal and should conduct his job with independence, objectivity and impartiality - no matter for whom the appraisal is written.

Myth: Market value will approximate replacement cost.

Fact: Without any suggestion from any external parties to purchase or sell, market value is what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for a particular house. The dollar amount required to rebuild a home is what shows the replacement cost.

Myth: Appraisers use a calculation, such as a specific price per square foot, to arrive at the value of a home.

Fact: An appraisal is a collection of data based on the property's size, location, proximity to some facilities, the condition of the house and the cost of recent comparable sales. You can count on Steyskal Home Appraisal LLC's appraisers to be ethical in assessing this information.

Myth: When the economy is robust and the value of properties are reported to be appreciating by a certain percentage, the other houses in the proximity can be expected to rise based on that same percentage.

Fact: Any price at which an appraiser concludes in regards to a particular home is always personalized, based on certain factors concluded from the information of comparable houses and other considerations within the house itself. It makes no difference whether the economy is excellent or poor.

Myth: You can commonly find what a property is worth simply by looking at the exterior.

Fact: Property worth is determined by a number of variables, including location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. An outside-only inspection definitely can't provide all of the data required.

Myth: Because the consumer is the one who puts up the funding to pay for the appraisal report when applying for a loan for any real estate transaction, by law the appraisal is theirs.

Fact: The appraisal is, in fact, legally owned by the lending agency - unless the lender "releases its interest" in the document. Due the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, any home buyer requesting a copy of the document must be provided with one by their lender.

Myth: There's no need for home buyers to even worry about what the appraisal report contains so long as their lending institution is fine with the contents therein.

Fact: Only if consumers examine a copy of their report can they double-check 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 information stored in an report that will probably 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 proximity.