A property value appraisal is very important to home sellers because mortgage lenders write their loans on the property for this amount. Even though as a home seller you may want to pay for a professional property value appraisal to learn about the true home values, you are not required to have an appraisal. Homebuyers, on the other hand, are required by the lender to have a property appraisal done by a real estate appraiser.

With over 20 years of experience as real estate appraisers, Appraisal Master has the expertise to handle a variety of home appraisals including single-family and multi-family homes, condominiums, new construction and custom homes, vacation homes, investment properties, and vacant land. Get your land appraised by our experts on property value appraisal before placing it on the market. 

Appraisal Master is willing to assist in all matters pertaining to property value appraisal in Massachusetts and Northern Virginia. We can help with your residential real estate appraisal needs.
 

• Copies of previous appraisals
• Copies of home inspections
• Copies of current or previous sales agreements
• Copies of any current or previous listing agreements
• List of any personal property being sold with the home
• Plans and specifications for original structure and additions, if applicable

Also, there are several things you can do that will ensure a proper and accurate appraisal:

• Facilitate access to the appraiser to the property. Let the appraiser enter all the rooms. It includes clean and dry access to crawlspaces and attics.
• The appraiser must see garages, storage areas, closets, basements, etc.
• The appraiser will be taking interior and exterior photographs
• Prevent a revisit from the appraiser to the property that will add expense and delay to the process by providing as much information as
  possible about it, such as the following:
• Title work
• Information on easements or encroachments
• Copies of permits for additions or recent work on the property
• Property survey
• Information on the previous sales history of the home
• Recent tax bill

Remember, Appraisal Master’s specialty is well researched, quality prepared real estate appraisals that meet all of the requirements of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).  Contact us.

Besides providing the highest quality and efficiency, our reports are issued in a reduced cycle time, while we save our clients time and money.

Our company provides real estate appraisal services for properties under purchase consideration, feasibility studies, refinancing purposes, investment analysis and assessment appeals.
 
Our appraisal firm offers individual home owners, banks, financial institutions, mortgage insurers, and private lenders a high degree of experience and property advisory services.  If you are buying, selling, refinancing or need to determine the value of a property, contact us today to set up an appointment for appraisal valuation.

Our highly trained appraisers are available to provide an unbiased and completely objective opinion of value on residential properties in Massachusetts and Northern Virginia. Ultimately, we feel our firm can offer you the experienced professional service you require, with accuracy and diligence.

At Appraisal Master we look forward to doing business with you and anticipate a long and rewarding relationship.  Contact us for more information on appraisal valuation.
 

Appraisal reviews consist of a judgment concerning the analysis or conclusions of a report and are subject to USPAP Standards. The primary goal of making a detailed review is to determine whether the value is reasonable and whether it is reliable enough to be used as a basis for business decisions.

There are four possible outcomes of an appraisal review:

1. The report and value conclusions are accepted without change.

2. The report is accepted, but the reviewer changes the value in accordance with USPAP Standards.

3. The report is returned to the appraiser for corrections and/or additions.

4. The report is rejected due to serious deficiencies and lack of cooperation from the appraiser. In such case, a new appraisal must be ordered.

The reviewer should focus on factual errors and items that affect the value conclusion rather than on nonmaterial issues. Simply complaining about the value does not help either side. The reviewer must show errors in the report and/or present factual data not analyzed by the appraiser.

Let the appraiser know your satisfaction when the report has been well written and duly supported. This is a business relationship and you may need a favor from this appraiser later on. When most clients call only to complain, your compliments will go a long way in building favorable relationships with your fee appraisers. Remember that this should be an ongoing relationship, and communication is the key to a successful, long-term business association.

Appraisal Master looks forward to fulfilling your residential real estate needs in a professional manner.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is included in your monthly payment. You receive no benefits from PMI, it is added insurance for the lender in case you default on your loan. You are entitled by law to have it removed if your home value rises to the point that your loan balance is less than 80% of the home’s current value.

Three steps are required for PMI removal:

1.  Request from your lender their PMI removal guidelines. All are slightly different but all require at least a year of timely payments. There are sometimes very small review fees, most do not charge fees.

2.  The lender will require you to have your home appraised to its current market value by a state-licensed appraiser at your expense.

3.  Submit the appraisal and the lender’s completed forms to the lender via certified mail.

We guarantee our home appraisals to be acceptable to your lender. Your appraisal will be the same type of appraisal that we prepare for lenders granting home loans and is guaranteed to be acceptable.

The costs of the appraisal are recovered in just a few months after the PMI has been removed from your payment.

Contact Appraisal Master and obtain a PMI Removal Appraisal today!

Call the experts at Appraisal Master when you want to make sure you are getting a good deal on a piece of property that you are considering buying. Our qualified professionals will help you get the best deal for the property and will also prevent you from undervaluing it in the future.

Appraisal Master can complete your appraisal within an hour and our reports can be returned to you within a week. We have the necessary tools to determine house values, instantly. Each report offers a highly technical real estate valuation with essential appraisal analysis and forward thinking reporting. We will help you make educated decisions while going through the sometimes overwhelming process of a real estate transaction.

The most accurate evaluation is a full appraisal written by a one of our licensed home appraisers who visit your home. A full home appraisal provides reliable information to help you discover the value of your home. If you don’t need a full appraisal you can order an Instant Home Valuation or a Home Replacement Cost Report.

We specialize in residential real estate appraisals and other valuation services for numerous uses and applications including mortgage financing, home equity loans, PMI removal, divorce, estate, insurance, refinance, home purchases and property tax appeals just to name a few. We utilize the most advanced technologies in the appraisal industry including digital report delivery, online ordering, tracking, and payment processing, computer-based field gathering tools, and state-of-the-art appraisal software.  Contact us for more information on Appraisals in Sterling, VA.

The following strategies will help you figure out how much your home is worth:

1. Abandon your personal point of view. Buyers don’t care how much you paid for the home, how many memorable moments you and your family shared in the home, how much cash you need for the downpayment on your next home or how much time and money you’ve invested in your home’s hardwood floors, fresh paint, lush landscaping or other improvements.

2. Ask for a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), which shows the prices of comparable recently sold homes, on-the-market homes and homes that were on the market, but weren’t sold. The on-the-market homes are the “competition” for your home. Ask about the reasons for each home to be included in the CMA and whether any other comparable homes were eliminated from the CMA. Price recommendations based on CMAs are just recommendations not gospel.
 
3. Do your own market research. Go to open houses in your neighborhood and try to make an impartial assessment of how those homes compare to yours in terms of location, size, amenities and condition. Assuming all the asking prices were the same, would you buy your home or someone else’s?

4. Calculate the price per square foot. The average price per square foot for homes in your neighborhood shouldn’t be the sole determinant of the asking price for your home, but it can be a useful starting point. 

5. Consider market conditions. Are home prices in your area trending upwards or downwards? Are homes selling quickly or languishing? Will your home be on the market in the spring home-buying season or the dead of winter? Are interest rates attractive? Is the economy
hot or cold? Will you be selling in a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? Is the local job market strong or are employees fearful of staff reductions?

6. Sweeten the transaction terms. The more creative and flexible you can be in meeting the buyer’s needs, the more success you’ll have in pricing your home to sell.

As you can see, setting the list price for your home involves evaluating various market conditions and financial factors. Professional appraisers at Appraisal Master will use the right methods to set an accurate price for your home. We can provide you with up-to-date real estate appraisals when you buy or sell a home.

Contact us for more information about House Appraisal in Sterling, VA.

• An appraisal provides valuable information for the buyer and the seller, but the appraiser’s primary mission is to protect the lender. Appraisals take place before the lender grants final approval of the buyer’s loan. Owning overpriced property is not the lender’s idea nor do they want to lend money to irresponsible borrowers.
• Appraisers take into account the location of the home, its proximity to desirable schools and other public facilities, the size of the lot, the size and condition of the home itself and recent sales prices of comparable properties, among other factors.
• Good housekeeping cannot really improve a home’s valuation. Appraisers aren’t interested in dirty dishes or dusty dressers, but they do notice such signs of neglect as cracked walls, chipped paint, broken windows, torn carpets, damaging flooring and inoperable appliances.
• Federal law requires states to establish minimum standards and licensing practices for real estate appraisers. Usually trainees must take several courses, pass an examination and complete certain amount of hours of supervised experience.
• An appraisal isn’t a substitute for a professional home inspection. The appraiser formulates an opinion of the property’s value for the lender, while the inspector educates the buyer about the condition of the home and its major components.
• A transaction can sometimes survive a “low” appraisal if the seller reduces the purchase price, the buyer makes a hefty down-payment or a separate escrow account is set up to fund repairs that will increase the value of the home. On rare occasions, an appraiser will reconsider his or her opinion if new evidence supports a higher valuation.

Appraisal Master has a reputation for great service. We can answer your questions about appraisals and appraisers.
 

Appraisers are licensed by individual states after completing coursework and internship hours that familiarize them with their real estate markets.

The appraiser must estimate the current market value of real and tangible property based upon data from real estate sales transactions and other current market data. This is done pursuant to the requirements of specific State laws. Appraisers obtain land values from county sources and sales information about nearby properties.  They also examine the income records and operating costs of income properties.  Appraisers estimate building replacement costs using building valuation manuals and professional cost estimators.  They also verify legal descriptions of property with county records, measure the property and compare the measurements with the legal descriptions.  They draw land diagrams and note conditions and special features of buildings.
Appraisers analyze and evaluate the data and prepare a written report outlining methods by which the fair-market value was estimated. Appraisers issue very detailed reports on a property’s value, and it is the only valuation report a bank will consider when deciding whether or not to lend the money.

The lender might use an appraiser on its staff, or contract with an independent appraiser.
If you are allowed to choose the appraiser, and it isn’t someone the lender is familiar with, the results might be subject to review before they are accepted.

The appraiser should be an objective third party, someone who has no financial or other connection to any person involved in the transaction.

Our goal as appraisers at Appraisal Master is to serve our clients with outstanding customer service and provide the most honest and equitable property valuations possible.  Contact us with all of your questions regarding Real Estate Appraisals in Sterling, VA. 

Property Sale / Purchase - While answering to the questions “Am I asking enough?” or “Am I paying too much?”, an appraisal is essential for anyone buying or selling property, an appraisal is essential for making an informed decision.

Mortgage or Lending Purposes - When acquiring a first or second mortgage or when a property is used as collateral for a loan, an appraisal is necessary to obtain financing. 
 
Relocation - Relocated employees by their employers are often offered relocation packages to protect their investment when relocating from one city to another.  An appraisal is the best way to ensure this. 

Estate Planning - When wealth changes from one generation to another, an appraisal serves as an objective basis for the division of assets and/or the determination of capital gains tax.

Legal Disputes / Dissolution of  Marriages - When real estate is the subject of a legal dispute or in cases where marriages are dissolved, an appraisal serves as an impartial way of estimating property value.

Taxes / Capital Gains - The value of property can increase substantially over time and may become subject to taxation or capital gains.  A professionally prepared appraisal is
recognized as the best estimation of value for taxation purposes. Accountants often rely on real estate appraisals for taxation purposes. 

Professional Advice - There’s no better way to find out the actual value of your property than by obtaining an independent opinion of value by a professionally recognized appraiser.

Talk to Appraisal Master today if you are considering an appraisal for any of these purposes.