The appraisal usually occurs after an offer has been made and the home has been inspected. As a buyer, you'll pay for the appraisal and you'll most likely need to make arrangements for it to be done as well. The evaluation process takes an average of seven to 10 days. The appraiser visits the property and spends an hour or two inspecting the interior and exterior of the home, measuring square footage and evaluating the features and fixtures of the home.
The appraiser also compares the home to other similar homes recently sold in the neighborhood (also known as comps). After performing the physical inspection and executing the compensations, the appraiser writes an evaluation report. The amount of time the entire process takes depends on the complexity of the assessment and the evaluator's workload or schedule. Your mortgage company doesn't perform appraisals.
Most state laws require that only an independent third party can conduct a property appraisal, although your mortgage lender can help you schedule or arrange your appointment. They are faster, cheaper and, in some cases, a more accurate home appraisal than their traditional counterparts. While you can't change the location of the property, you can do something about other factors that could lower the home appraisal. While your appraiser should not assess the value of your home based on the amount of clutter or clutter there is, it will be easier for him to see your home favorably if everything is well guarded.
While home appraisals are inevitable for most, there may be a quicker way to do them than the traditional route. After the home is under contract, the lender will generally order the appraisal through a third-party appraisal management company (AMC) to obtain an unbiased opinion. When an apartment buyer sees the appraisal report and realizes that the appraised value returned at a lower price than the price they were buying their apartment, the initial reaction could be that they overpaid for the apartment. The amount a buyer pays for an appraisal depends on several factors, including the size of the home, the location of the home, and the amount of property research the appraiser ends up doing before issuing a final value report.
A home appraisal is an unbiased estimate of how much a property is worth, also known as its fair market value. Buyers can also expect to pay a higher appraisal fee in a very rural area simply because there are fewer appraisers working in these areas. In addition, loans through the VA or FHA have protections that state that if the home is not evaluated for some reason, the buyer can recover their guarantee money, according to Daniels. Because the appraisal primarily protects the lender's interests, the lender will normally order the appraisal.
And for lenders, an appraisal provides proof that a home is properly valued before a mortgage is approved. If the appraiser expects a percentage of the home's value to be paid, it may be a sign of an unethical practice, which should be avoided. You can't speed up your evaluation, but you can ensure a smooth evaluation process for you and your appraiser with proper preparation. In a refinance transaction, an appraisal assures the lender that you are not giving the borrower more money than the home is worth.
When all goes well, the home appraisal is just another box to check on a closing checklist.