Common myths about appraising

By law, an appraiser must be state-licensed to produce appraisals for federally-supported purchases. You also have the right to request a copy of the finished report from your lender. Contact us if you have any concerns about the appraisal procedure.

Myth: Assessed value generally will equate to market value.

Fact: This is not often the case; most states do support the idea that the assessed value is the same as market value, but not always. Examples include when interior reconstruction has happened and the assessor is unaware of the improvements, or when homes in the vicinity have not been reassessed for an extended period.

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

Fact: The appraiser has no vested interest in the outcome of the report and should render services with independence, objectivity and impartiality - no matter for whom the appraisal is conducted.

Myth: Market value should equate to replacement cost.

Fact: The way market value is arrived at is based on what a buyer would be willing to pay a willing seller for a property without being under duress from any outside group to purchase or sell. Replacement value is the dollar amount needed to reconstruct a property in-kind.

Myth: There are specific ways that real estate appraisers use to find the opinion of value of a house, like the price per square foot.

Fact: An appraisal report is an assertion of data based on the property's size, location, proximity to undesirable facilities, the condition of the property and the worth of recent comparable sales. You can rely on Netterville Appraisal Service's appraisers to be professional in assessing this information.

Myth: When the economy is strong and the sales prices of houses are reported to be appreciating by a certain percentage, the other properties in the vicinity can be expected to increase based on that same percentage.

Fact: Price increase of a specific property must be concluded on a case-by-case basis, factoring in data on comparable homes and other relevant specifications within the property itself. It makes no difference whether the economy is strong or terrible.

Myth: The property's outside is determinate of the actual worth of the house; there is no need to do an interior inspection.

Fact: There are a multitude of different variables that show the value of a house; these factors include area, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. Obviously, none of these variables can be derived just by inspecting the house from the exterior.

Myth: Considering that the consumer is the party who provides the funding to pay for the appraisal report when applying for a loan for any real estate transaction, legally the appraisal report is theirs.

Fact: The appraisal is, in fact, legally owned by the lending agency - unless the lender "releases its interest" in the appraisal report. Home buyers must be given a copy of the report upon written request because of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Myth: It doesn't mean anything to consumers what's in the appraisal so long as it satisfies the requirements of their lending agency.

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 document, in case it's required to question its accuracy. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is a great deal of data stored in an appraisal report that will probably be useful to the consumer 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.