Appraisal myths & facts

It is required by legal agencies that an appraiser needs to be state-licensed to create appraisal reports for federally-related home sales in Florida. The law entitles you to receive a copy of your finished appraisal from your lender after it has been produced. 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: It might be that Florida, like most states, supports the suggestion that the assessed value is the same as the market value; however, this certainly varies based on state-to-state. Often when interior remodeling has occurred and the assessor is not aware of the improvement or other homes in the Melbourne have not been reassessed for years or more, it may vary wildly.

Myth: The value of a property will be different depending upon whether the appraisal is provided for the buyer or the seller.

Fact: There is no vested interest on the part of the appraiser in the result of the appraisal report, therefore he will complete his work with impartiality and independence, no matter for whom the appraisal is created.

Myth: Market value should approximate replacement cost.

Fact: The way market value is found is based on what a home buyer would be willing to pay a willing seller for a home without being under pressure from any external party to purchase or sell. The dollar amount needed to reconstruct a home is what forms the replacement cost.

Myth: There are certain methods that real estate appraisers use to find the cost of a property, such as the price per square foot.

Fact: There are many numerous methods that an appraiser will use to make a full investigation of every factor pertaining to the house, such as the size, location, condition, how close it is to specific facilities and the cost of recently sold comparable houses.

Myth: When the economy is robust and the worth of homes are reported to be appreciating by a certain percentage, the other homes in the proximity can be expected to rise based on that same percentage.

Fact: All appreciation of worth is on an individual basis, determined by data on relevant considerations and the data of comparable homes. It doesn't matter if the economy is on the rise or declining.

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

Fact: There are a multitude of different factors that show the value of a home; these factors include area, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. An outside-only inspection obviously can't provide all of the data required.

Myth: Because consumers fund appraisals when applying for loans to buy or refinance their property, they legally own their appraisal.

Fact: The document is, in fact, legally owned by the lender - unless the lender "releases its interest" in the document. Consumers have to be provided with a copy of the appraisal report through request as per the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Myth: Consumers need not worry about what is in their appraisal so long as it meets the needs of their lending company.

Fact: A consumer should definitely look through their report; there may be some questions or some worries with the accuracy of the appraisal report that need to be addressed. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. An report can serve as a record for the future, containing an exorbitant amount of data - including, but certainly 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.