Common myths about appraising

It is required by law that an appraiser is required to be state-licensed to produce appraisals for federally-related home sales in Nebraska. You are also entitled by law to acquire a copy of the finished appraisal report from your lending agency. Contact us if you have any concerns about the appraisal process.

Myth: Assessed value should be the same as to market value.

Fact: While most states uphold the suggestion that assessed value is equal to estimated market value, this generally is not the case. Interior reconstruction that the assessor has not investigated and a lack of reassessment on nearby properties are excellent examples of why the price can vary.

Myth: The opinion of value of a house will differ depending upon whether the appraisal is produced for the buyer or the seller.

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

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

Fact: Without any influence from any outside parties to purchase or sell, market value is what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for a specific home. The dollar amount required to reconstruct a property is what shows the replacement cost.

Myth: There are specific ways that real estate appraisers use to find the opinion of value of a property, such as the price per square foot.

Fact: Appraisers complete an exhaustive analysis of all factors pertaining to the price of a home, including its location, condition, size, proximity to facilities and recent costs of comparable homes.

Myth: As houses increase their worth by a specific percentage - in a strong economy - the homes in proximity are figured to appreciate by the same amount.

Fact: Any price at which an appraiser concludes in regards to a specific property is always individualized, based on certain factors derived from the data of comparable homes and other specifications within the house itself. This is true in fair economic times as well as poor.

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

Fact: To conclude an accurate value beyond all doubt, an appraiser must inspect the property on a variety of factors based on location, condition, improvements, amenities, and market trends. Obviously, none of these factors can be derived just by inspecting the property from the outside.

Myth: Since you're the one providing the money for the appraisal when applying for your loan to buy or refinance your home, you own the provided appraisal.

Fact: Legally, the appraisal report is owned by the lending agency unless the lender releases their interest in the report. However, consumers have to be supplied with a copy of the appraisal report upon written request, due to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Myth: It doesn't concern consumers what's in the appraisal report so long as it satisfies the requirements of their lender.

Fact: Only if consumers look at a copy of their 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. There is a wealth of information stored in an report that will probably be useful to the consumer in the future, such as 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.