Here are some
answers to some common questions that we usually get.
How accurate are those various on-line valuation tools that are
available?
Click here for a long answer.
I’m selling my own house on a for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) basis. Can you
help me with pricing?
Absolutely.
An appraisal is based upon historical data. That means that we look into
the past (but as recently as possible) to find houses similar to yours
that have sold. We make appropriate adjustments to those sales to derive
our estimate of market value. When you put your house on the market
you’ll also be interested in knowing what your competition is so that
you can fine tune your asking price. Our FSBO appraisal is a regular
appraisal along with current data of houses that would compete with
yours on the market. You really need to know what your competition is
asking so that your asking price isn’t too high or low.
I just refinanced (or bought a new house). How can I get a copy of my
appraisal?
Federal Law (Equal Credit Opportunity Act) requires that the lender provide you with a copy of your
appraisal upon request. Actually, there are numerous federal agencies that
have adopted similar versions of the law requiring that they provide you
with a copy of the appraisal. Some lenders will actually provide a copy in your
closing documents that you received at closing. Other times, there might
be printed instructions included in your closing documents that tell you
where to mail your request. It's important to note that the appraiser owes
confidentiality to the lender who is the appraiser's client. This means
that the appraiser CANNOT release a copy of the appraisal to you, even if
you paid the appraiser directly on the day of inspection. It doesn't
matter how the appraiser is paid- the lender is still the client and the
appraiser would be violating their professional standards (USPAP-
Confidentiality) by doing so. It
really doesn't matter much anyway because the lender is obligated to
provide you with the appraisal. Here's a copy of the Federal Reserve Rule
covering this topic.
(PDF: 56 KB / 1 page)
Are all
appraisers licensed?
No. Illinois
is a voluntary licensing state which means anyone can offer appraisal
type services so long as they don’t claim to be licensed. The reality
however, is that most users of appraisals require the use of a licensed
appraiser which pretty much makes it impossible to stay in business as
an appraiser if not licensed.
If I
ordered appraisals from more than one appraiser would the values be the
same?
Not likely.
We all follow the same standards but there is plenty of leeway in what
data appraisers choose and what sort of methodology is applied to that
data. Ultimately, an appraisal is an opinion of value and different
appraisers are likely to have different opinions. That’s why it’s
especially important to hire an appraiser with good qualifications.
Can I use
my appraisal for any purpose?
No. Our
standards require that we know in advance what the purpose of the
appraisal will be for. We develop and report the findings of your
appraisal based upon the purpose that you tell us. Therefore, the
appraisal is limited to that purpose only. Our standards cover this
issue in quite a bit of detail and important Advisory Opinions have
recently been issued that explain this situation in detail. Please call us
if you have any questions.
My
attorney told me to order an appraisal for my court case. Do you do that
sort of work?
Absolutely.
Please call and talk to us before ordering this type of appraisal from
our firm or anyone else. An appraisal developed for purposes of
litigation is very special and it takes someone with a lot of experience
in this area to develop an appraisal that is defensible in court. If you
end up ordering more than one appraisal then there’s a chance that all
of those appraisals can be ‘discovered’ during the course of your
litigation. You don’t want to be in possession of multiple appraisals
because they can be used against each other. It’s extremely important
to only have ONE appraisal that’s done right.
What’s
different between what my real estate agent does and what you can provide?
Excellent
question. We’ll have a more substantial answer to this question posted
shortly. But for right now realize that our services are provided on a
‘disinterested’ basis. That is, we get paid for doing your appraisal
and have no other motives. Your real estate agent is also trying to list
your house for sale. There are different reasons why an unethical agent
may desire to over or under-price your house. Additionally, most agents
actually never receive specialized appraisal training but learn on the
job by trial and error. We have hundreds of hours of education and
thousands of hours worth of experience. Most agents do a pretty decent
job of recommending a list price for houses in cookie-cutter type
subdivisions. But for unusual houses or situations you want to have a
second opinion to compare to your agent, an appraisal is the way to go.
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