Appraisal myths debunked

By law, an appraiser is enforced to be state-licensed to produce appraisals for federally-backed sales. The law entitles you to receive a copy of your completed appraisal from your lending agency after it has been provided. Contact Kernea Appraisals if you have any concerns about the appraisal procedure.

Myth: Market value will always be equivocal to the assessed value of the property.

Fact: This usually isn't true; most states do support the idea that the assessed value is the same as market value, but not always. Interior remodeling that the assessor is not aware of and a dearth of reassessment on nearby homes are prime examples of why this occurs.

Myth: The buyer or the seller sometimes may have impact in the value of the home depending upon for whom the appraiser is working.

Fact: The appraised value of the property does not affect the salary of the appraiser; as such, the appraiser has no pressured interest in the opinion of value of the house. This means that he will render task with impartiality and independence regardless for whom the appraisal is provided.

Myth: Market value will be the same as replacement cost.

Fact: Market value is acquired by what a willing buyer would likely pay a willing seller for a certain property, with neither being under pressure to buy or sell. The replacement cost is the dollar amount needed to reconstruct a home in-kind.

Myth: Appraisers use a formula, such as a certain price per square foot, to conclude the cost of a house.

Fact: Appraisers make a full analysis of all factors in consideration to the price of a home, including its location, condition, size, proximity to facilities and recent sale prices of comparable homes.

Myth: In a powerful economy - when the values of properties in a given county are found to be increasing by a particular percentage - the prices of individual properties in the vicinity can be expected to rise by that same percentage.

Fact: Any cost at which an appraiser concludes in regards to a specific home is always personalized, based on certain factors derived from the data of comparable properties and other considerations within the house itself. This is true in good economic times as well as bad.

Myth: You can generally find what a home is worth simply by looking at the outside.

Fact: House worth is determined by a number of factors, including area, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. As you can see, none of these variables can be derived simply by inspecting the home from the exterior.

Myth: Because consumers pay for appraisal reports when applying for loans to buy or refinance their property, they legally own their appraisal.

Fact: Legally, the report is owned by the lending agency unless the lender relinquishes their interest in the report. Because of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, any home buyer requesting a copy of the document must be given it by their lending agency.

Myth: It doesn't concern consumers what's in the report so long as it meets the requirements of their lending company.

Fact: It is very important for home buyers to go through a copy of their report so that they can verify the accuracy of the report, in case it's required to question its veracity. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is a wealth of information stored in an appraisal 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 proximity.