Appraisal myths debunked

It is mandated by law that a real estate appraiser is required to be state-licensed to create appraisal reports for federally-supported real estate purchases in Ohio. You have the ability to demand a copy of the completed appraisal from your lending agency. Contact our professional staff if you have any concerns about the appraisal process.

Myth: Market value should be equivocal to the assessed value of the property.

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 occurred and the assessor does not know about the improvements, or when homes in the area have not been reassessed for an prolonged time.

Myth: Depending on if the appraisal is produced for the buyer or the seller, the cost of the house will vary.

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

Myth: The replacement value of the home is always is on par with the market value.

Fact: The way market value is arrived at is based on what a buyer would likely pay a willing seller for a house without being under influence from any outside party to purchase or sell. Replacement cost is the dollar amount needed to rebuild a home in-kind.

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

Fact: An appraisal report is an amalgamation of data based on the property's size, location, proximity to certain facilities, the condition of the house and the cost of recent comparable sales. You can rely on Crawford Romans Appraisal Services's staff to be professional in assessing this information.

Myth: As properties appreciate by a certain percentage - in a strong economic state - the houses nearby are figured to appreciate by the same amount.

Fact: Cost increase of a specific home has to be concluded on a case-by-case basis, factoring in information on comparable homes and other relevant considerations. It doesn't matter if the economy is doing well or declining.

Myth: You can often tell what a house is worth simply by looking at the outside.

Fact: Home worth is determined by a multitude of variables, including location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. There's no possible way to get all of this information from just examining the house from the exterior.

Myth: Since you're the one paying for the appraisal report when applying for the loan to purchase or refinance real estate, you own the provided appraisal.

Fact: Legally, the report is owned by the lending agency unless the lender releases their interest in the document. Due the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, any home buyer demanding a copy of the report must be given one by their lending agency.

Myth: There's no reason for home buyers to even care about what the appraisal report contains so long as their lending company is fine with the contents therein.

Fact: A home buyer should definitely look through their appraisal report; there might be some questions or some concerns with the accuracy of the inspection that must be addressed. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is a great deal of information stored in an appraisal that can be useful to the home buyer 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 vicinity.