Real Estate Appraisers in the Houston Galleria

The appraiser gets his or her information from a wide variety of sources, including the local Multiple Listing Service, local tax assessors records, local real estate professionals, county courthouse records, private public record data vendors, interviews with sellers and buyers, appraisal data co-operatives and his or her own personal knowledge or office files from previous appraisals. The quality and reliability of each piece of information is considered by the appraiser. The appraiser can also use data provided by a 3rd party so long as that data is directly applicable to appraisal, reliable and verifiable.

The appraiser typically doesn’t need any documentation from you to complete your assignment, unless there are special circumstances where you have information that needs to be considered. With that in mind, if the appraisal is for a sale the appraiser will almost always want to see the sales contract. There may be certain aspects of the contract that could impact the appraisal value. Though usually unnecessary, the following documentation could prove helpful to your appraiser: A property survey of the house and property. A deed or title report showing the legal description. If selling, a list of personal property that will be included in the sale. A list of recent improvements & cost as well as any other information you feel may be pertinent. A copy of your floor plan or a blueprint of the home is usually helpful to an appraiser as well.

No. Appraisals and home inspections are two very different services. Inspections involve a licensed home inspector or contractor who evaluates the structure and mechanical systems (heating, plumbing, air-conditioning, etc.) of a house, from foundation to rooftop. While the appraiser must perform a basic inspection of the subject property, it is nowhere near as extensive as what a home inspector does. The majority of the appraisers efforts are focused on market research to determine value based on “assumed” condition of the home.

An appraisal contingency protects the buyer by giving them an “out” of the contract should the home not appraise (i.e. the value of the home comes in lower than the sales price). For example, if you go to buy a home for $325,000 with an appraisal contingency and it appraisers for $310,000 then you can either walk from the deal or renegotiate down to $310,000.