Do You Need A Real Estate Appraiser When Buying A Home?
Posted by admin | Real Estate | Posted on February 24th, 2009
If you are considering buying or selling a home, condo or other property, you will most likely need the services of a real estate appraiser. An appraiser performs an assessment of the properties and other real estate to help establish its value. While there are several methods used by the evaluators to establish the value of the property (eg the cost method, income method and comparison method), for residential properties, the comparison method (also known as value market) is the most common method. The assessor’s job is to provide an opinion on the value of a property based on its “highest and best use.” If you are financing the purchase of a property, your lender will normally require an evaluation to ensure that the property is actually worth the amount borrowed.
The real estate appraiser is the task of conducting a comprehensive assessment of a property and usually a written evaluation report. This is accomplished through a physical inspection of the property, and a comparison with other similar properties to which the value is already established. To make a determination on the value, the appraiser gathers details such as size of property, lot size, location, condition, better use of goods, services, etc.
After this initial inspection, the appraiser can explore the neighborhood of the property compared with other similar properties in the neighborhood by age, size, price range, etc. The evaluator collects additional data from various sources including the local Multiple Listing Services ( MLS), which provides information on recent comparable sales. The appraiser also gathers information from its own experience in the local market. All these sources of information are taken into account when writing the evaluation report, which will provide an estimate on the value of a property.
There are many reasons to use the services of a qualified appraiser. When purchasing real estate, an appraisal will provide a negotiating tool and helps ensure that the price being paid is appropriate. If you are selling your property, the assessment will help you determine an appropriate price range. Besides real estate and mortgage transactions, you may need to order an assessment to reduce the tax burden (assuming that the value is far below the value set by the tax authorities) to establish the replacement cost of insurance, to settle an inheritance, etc. The appraiser only gives an estimate of property value. A real estate appraiser is not to be confused with a home inspector.
If you are considering buying or selling a home, condo or other property, you can use the services of a qualified real estate appraiser to give an estimate of the fair market value of your property.