Home Appraisals: A PrimerBuying a home can be the most significant investment most of us could ever encounter. It doesn't matter if where you raise your family, an additional vacation home or one of many rentals, purchasing real property is a detailed transaction that requires multiple people working in concert to pull it all off. You're likely to be familiar with the parties taking part in the transaction. The real estate agent is the most familiar face in the transaction. Next, the mortgage company provides the financial capital required to fund the exchange. And ensuring all requirements of the exchange are completed and that a clear title passes to the buyer from the seller is the title company. So, who makes sure the real estate is worth the purchase price? This is where you meet the appraiser. We provide an unbiased estimate of what a buyer might expect to pay — or a seller receive — for a property, where both buyer and seller are informed parties. A licensed, certified, professional appraiser from All City Appraisal will ensure, you as an interested party, are informed. Inspecting the subject propertyTo determine the true status of the property, it's our duty to first perform a thorough inspection. We must physically see features, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the location, living areas, etc, to ensure they indeed are present and are in the shape a typical buyer would expect them to be. To make sure the stated square footage has not been misrepresented and describe the layout of the house, the inspection often requires creating a sketch of the floorplan. Most importantly, we look for any obvious features - or defects - that would affect the value of the property. Once the site has been inspected, an appraiser uses two or three approaches to determining the value of real property: a paired sales analysis, a replacement cost calculation, and an income approach when rental properties are prevalent. 
Replacement CostThis is where the appraiser pulls information on local building costs, labor rates and other factors to derive how much it would cost to construct a property similar to the one being appraised. This value commonly sets the upper limit on what a property would sell for. The cost approach is also the least used predictor of value. 
Sales ComparisonAppraisers get to know the subdivisions in which they appraise. They innately understand the value of particular features to the people of that area. Then, the appraiser researches recent transactions in the area and finds properties which are 'comparable' to the real estate at hand. By assigning a dollar value to certain items such as upgraded appliances, extra bathrooms, additional living area, quality of construction, lot size, we add or subtract from each comparable's sales price so that they more accurately match the features of subject property.
An opinion of what the subject might sell for can only be determined once all differences between the comps and the subject have been evaluated. When it comes to knowing the true worth of features of homes in Woodland Hills and Los Angeles, All City Appraisal is second to none. This approach to value is usually awarded the most importance when an appraisal is for a real estate purchase. Valuation Using the Income ApproachA third method of valuing real estate is sometimes employed when an area has a measurable number of renter occupied properties. In this case, the amount of income the real estate generates is factored in with income produced by nearby properties to determine the current value. The Bottom LineCombining information from all approaches, the appraiser is then ready to state an estimated market value for the property in question. It is important to note that while this amount is probably the best indication of what a property is worth, it may not be the final sales price. There are always mitigating factors such as seller motivation, urgency or 'bidding wars' that may adjust an offer or listing price up or down. Regardless, the appraised value is typically used as a guideline for lenders who don't want to loan a buyer more money than the property is actually worth. The bottom line is, an appraiser from All City Appraisal will guarantee you attain the most fair and balanced property value, so you can make profitable real estate decisions. |