Why Get an Appraisal?

There are several reasons why you may need or want to get a home appraisal, including:

Pre-Sell/Purchase Decisions –

Before you decide to sell or purchase a home, you must decide how much you should buy or sell it for.  If you are the seller, you may want to find out so you can decide whether it is worth it or not to paint the house or put in new carpeting. If you are the buyer, you may want to have someone uninvolved with the transaction help you determine if you are paying too much (or too little) for the house.

PMI Removal –

Private Mortgage Insurance (or PMI) is supplemental insurance that many lenders ask homeowners to purchase when the amount loaned on the property is more than 80% of the value of the house. The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 requires that lenders drop the PMI payments when the loan to value ratio conditions have been met, however many require an appraisal to support the homeowner’s assertions of the value increase.  Getting an appraisal and dropping your PMI payments can significantly reduce your monthly mortgage payments.

Estate Planning –

The loss of a loved one is a difficult time, and often this sad event is complicated by difficult decisions regarding the disposition of the estate.  Settling an estate usually requires an appraisal opinion to establish fair market value for the residential property involved. 

Divorce Settlement –

Finalizing a divorce involves many decisions, including property disposition.  There are generally two options: the house can either be sold and the proceeds divided, or one party can buy the other party out. In either case, one or both parties should have an appraisal of the residence. 

Whatever your reason, chances are you will have to go through a home appraisal at some point in your life.

Most lenders are required by federal and state laws and current banking regulations to obtain an appraisal for most loans secured by real estate and all appraisals made for mortgage loans from federally insured lenders must be made by a licensed or certified appraiser.

Property Tax Reduction -

If, like so many other properties in the State of California, your property has declined in value significantly, it may be time to consider filing an application for tax reduction with your County Assessor.  To accomplish this task, you will need to establish the current market value of your property and the difference between the current market value and the assessed value.  A certified appraisal will accommodate your efforts.

Litigation Support -

Often there is legal action regarding the value of real property for divorce, partnership termination, fraud, lot line adjustment, granting of an easement, merge with another parcel, fire loss, or similar issues for which the actual value of the property, improvements, and contents may need to be established and supported by a qualified professional.  Our chief appraiser is a qualified expert witness in Lake and Mendocino Counties, and can assist in non-discoverable analysis of opposing appraisal reports, providing a second opinion appraisal, or consulting with counsel to establish the most beneficial line of questioning for deposition or trial.  It is often best to obtain the services of a qualified appraiser early on in the action to assist in the future direction of the case.  NEVER wait until will into the litigation or AFTER the other side has an appraisal to think about being prepared.  You may get lucky, but most of the time the key to your success may be lost.  Obviously, we consider "timing" to be the key to success in most legal actions involving real property valuation.