The first step in most appraisals is the home inspection. During this process, the appraiser will come to your home and measure it, determine the layout of the rooms inside, confirm all aspects of the home’s general condition, and take several photos of your house for inclusion in the report. The best thing you can do to help is to make sure the appraiser has easy access to the exterior of the house. Trim any bushes and move any items that would make it difficult to measure the structure. On the inside, make sure that the appraiser can easily access items such the furnace and water heater. Analyzing Comparable Sales Appraisers get to know the subdivisions in which they work. We innately understand the value of features to the residents of that area. Then, the appraiser researches recent transactions in close proximity to the subject and finds properties which are ‘comparable’ to the real estate being appraised. By assigning a dollar value to certain items such as upgraded appliances, extra bathrooms, an additional living area, quality of construction, lot size, we adjust the comparable properties so that they are more accurately in line with the features of subject property. The sales comparison approach to value is usually awarded the most weight when an appraisal is for a real estate sale. Say, for example, the comparable has a second detached garage and the subject does not, the appraiser may deduct the value of an additional garage from the sales price of the comparable. In the case where the subject has something such as an extra half bath that a comparable doesn’t have, the appraiser might add the value of that bath to the comparable property.
Meet Stephanie Foster
Certified Real Estate Appraiser