Appraisal myths & facts

Legally, a real estate appraiser needs to be state certified to produce legitimate real estate appraisals for federally-related transactions. You have the ability to request a copy of the completed report from your lending agency. Contact our professional staff if you have any questions about the appraisal process.

Myth: The value that is assessed by the appraiser will be the same as the market value.

Fact: It is possible that Texas, like most states, validates the common myth that the assessed value equals the market value; however, this is not always true. Often when interior remodeling has been done and the assessor is has not investigated the improvement or other homes in the Fairview have not been reassessed for quite a while, it may vary wildly.

Myth: The buyer or the seller can have some pull in the cost of the property depending upon for whom the appraiser is working.

Fact: The value of the home does not affect the salary of the appraiser; due to this, the appraiser has no pressured interest in the opinion of value of the property. This means that he will conduct services with impartiality and independence regardless for whom the appraisal is created.

Myth: Market value will be the same as replacement cost.

Fact: The way market value is arrived at is based on what a home buyer would likely pay a willing seller for a house without being under duress from any external party to buy or sell. If the property were rebuilt, the dollar amount necessary to do so would set the replacement cost.

Myth: Appraisers use a formula, like a specific price per square foot, to conclude the worth of a house.

Fact: Appraisers make a comprehensive analysis of all factors pertaining to the price of a house, including its location, condition, size, proximity to facilities and recent values of comparable houses.

Myth: In a powerful economy - when the prices of homes in a given neighborhood are found to be appreciating by a certain percentage - the worth of individual homes in the area can be expected to appreciate by that same percentage.

Fact: Any worth at which an appraiser concludes concerning a specific property is always individualized, based on certain factors found from the data of comparable properties and other specifications within the property itself. It makes no difference if the economy is powerful or on the decline.

Myth: The home's exterior is determinate of the actual value of the house; it is unnecessary to do an interior inspection.

Fact: Home worth is determined by a number of factors, including location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. An outside-only inspection certainly can't provide all of the data required.

Myth: Because consumers pay for appraisal reports when applying for loans to purchase or refinance their house, they legally own their appraisal report.

Fact: The report is, in fact, legally owned by the lending agency - unless the lender "relinquishes its interest" in the document. Consumers must be supplied with a copy of the report upon written request because of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Myth: Home buyers need not be concerned with what is in their appraisal report so long as it exceeds the necessities of their lending institution.

Fact: Only if consumers examine a copy of their appraisal report can they ensure its accuracy and possibly need to question the result. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. An report can double as a record for the future, containing an incredible amount of information - including, but not limited to 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.