Common myths about appraising

Legally, an appraiser is required to be state certified to produce legitimate real estate appraisals for federally-backed transactions. The law gives you the right to get a copy of your completed report from your lending agency after it has been provided. Contact us if you have any concerns about the appraisal procedure.

Myth: Market value has to be similar 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. Usually when interior remodeling has been done and the assessor is not aware of the improvement or other homes in the Akron have not been reassessed for quite some time, it may vary wildly.

Myth: Depending on whether the appraisal is drawn up for the buyer or the seller, the opinion of value of the property will vary.

Fact: There is no personal interest on the part of the appraiser in the outcome of the appraisal, therefore he will conduct his work with impartiality and independence, no matter for whom the appraisal is conducted.

Myth: Any time market value is found, it should be similar to the replacement cost of the house.

Fact: The way market value is arrived at is based on what a home buyer would be willing to pay a willing seller for a property without being under influence from any external party to buy or sell. The dollar amount required to reconstruct a house is what constitutes the replacement cost.

Myth: There are specific methods that appraisers use to show the cost of a house, like the price per square foot.

Fact: An appraisal report is an amalgamation of data concluded from the house's size, location, proximity to certain facilities, the condition of the house and the cost of recent comparable sales. You can count on Brian P Mocilnikar's staff to be ethical in assessing this data.

Myth: As homes increase their worth by a certain percentage - in a strong economy - the houses around the appreciating properties are figured to increase by the same amount.

Fact: Worth increase of a certain house must be determined on a case-by-case basis, factoring in information on comparable homes and other relevant considerations. This is true in fair economic times as well as poor.

Myth: You can often find what a property is worth simply by looking at the exterior.

Fact: House value is concluded by a number of variables, including location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. An exterior inspection certainly can't provide all of the data needed.

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

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

Myth: There's no need for consumers to even care about what the appraisal contains so long as their lender is fine with the contents therein.

Fact: Only if home buyers examine a copy of their appraisal report can they double-check 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 appraisal can double as a record for the future, as it contains 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 vicinity.