Updates

Everyone today is certainly aware of the economic crisis that has caused a severe recession the last 2 years or so. This recession was promulgated by the banking and mortgage industry fiasco. Basically, the mortgage companies were providing easily affordable loans to homeowners with less than satifactory loan terms.

Millions of homeowners received loans that they should not have qualified for to begin with and soon realized that their original adjustable mortgage payments were increasing at a substantial rate. The underwriters within these banks simply approved all these loans and sold them to investors that were soon to find out that the loans would only wind up in foreclosure.

Homeowners have now seen their property values decrease by a substantial amount - causing the value of their homes to be less than what they currently owe on their mortgage. This creates a number of severe problems for both homeowner and the economy. The banks are stuck with millions of foreclosed homes and homeowners can't refinance their homes for lower interest rates and or equity loans. Equity loans provide cash to homeowners for many things suchas home improvements, school loans, vacations etc.

So where does this leave the homeowner? Unfortunately many homeowners have no idea what their property values are currently at. The problem with that is that their taxes may be based on a higher property values before this recession started. If that is the case, then the home owner may be paying significantly more taxes than they should be. Homeowners should definitely know what their properties are currently worth - either by researching data at their local assessor's office or obtaining an affordable real estate appraisal.

Often, the latter is simply the most economical and time saving solution. Not that I'm trying to sell you our services, but I'd recommend at least consulting an appraiser to get the scoop for your local area. If you're in New York, you can contact me 24/7 at: http://www.propertyoneappraisal.com/ContactUs

Keep in mind, there are lots of online home valuation tools also, and these can be a good starting place, but a lot of people have indicated that tools like Zillow are consistently over-valuing or under-valuing homes (especially in this economic market).So don't put all of your eggs in the online valuation basket. Knowing the true worth of your home and getting a potentially higher sale value or lower tax assessment is definitely worth it.

Property assessments are not an appraisal. The property assessment is not as thorough as an appraisal and, actually, part of the appraisal business is often involved with fighting assessments that are too high. While the assessor is trying to be fair, he does not usually have the resources available to him to evaluate each property as thoroughly as an appraiser could. 

A CMA (certified market analysis) or BPO (brokers price opinion) are not an appraisal. While brokers are usually knowledgeable about the market, they are brokers, not licensed appraisers, and some (even if only a few) may have their own interests when performing a CMA or BPO.  It's a good idea, actually, to have an appraisal done to get an unbiased estimate of value.

A home inspection is not an appraisal.  While appraisers note obvious visual structural problems, real estate appraisers are not licensed home inspectors or engineers. The appraiser represents the lender. If you are purchasing and have questions about a property's structural integrity, you want to also hire a qualified home inspector to answer those questions.

One of the most common questions that I am asked at appraisal inspections, is how much is the house worth.  Actually, appraisers are not allowed to discuss value with the homeowner, unless the homeowner is the client.  Appraisers have a fiduciary responsibilty to the lender or client only.  Although the homeowner is as important as the "Customer", legally the client is whoever ordered the appraisal and provided us the assignment.

Additionally, appraisers typically do not know the estimated value during the inspection, anyway.  At that point, appraisers are engaged in the inspection phase of the appraisal process and have probably not analyed any market data at that point.

Homeowners will tell us that they have spent thousands of dollars on improvements and amenities on their home since they purchased it.  Many homeowners believe that if they spent $50,000 on these improvements that their house must be worth $50,000 more in value.  Unfortunately, that is not true most of the time because cost cannot recapture full value of additional amenities or improvements.  Homeowners need to be careful when over-improving their house because there is a good chance the market will not bear the return of their cost when it comes time to sell the property.

We'll treat other client misconceptions here, as part of our ongoing updates to provide you clear, accurate information to help you make the best use of your appraisal report and the appraisal process.

Many homeowners will list their house with an agent not knowing what the true estimated value is on their home.  Although many Realtors are knowledgeable in the Real Estate market, they do not study and analyse market values the same way an appraiser would - considering amenities, improvements, depreciation, age and condition, etc.  Appraisers are completely unbiased.  We find that not enough homeowners are willing to pay for an estimated value on their home from an appraiser because of the appraisal fee.  We offer different and affordable appraisal fees so homeowners can find out what their home is currently worth.

Instead of losing buyers to inflated prices or underselling your home, because of the need to drop the price, start with solid information. The cost of an appraiser is very modest, and the difference in return to you can be many times that.

Many homeowners are paying too much for their property and school taxes because town or village assessments are not current with the currnet marketplace.  Many homeowners are actually paying hundreds more a month than they should be.  We find that not enough homeowners are willing to pay for a tax challenge because of the appraisal fee.  We offer different and affordable appraisal formats and fees so homeowners can challenge their tax assessments, without breaking the bank.

A very high percentage of tax assessment appeals result in lowering your property taxes, implying that a large number of homes are over-assessed. For the modest fee involved, the annual savings can be dramatic.