Appraisal myths debunked

Legally, a real estate appraiser is required to be state certified to produce substantiated appraisal reports for federally-related purchase. Also by law, you are allowed to request a copy of the finished report from your lending agency. Contact us if you have any concerns about the appraisal procedure.

Myth: Assessed value generally will be the same as to market value.

Fact: While most states support the concept that assessed value approximates estimated market value, this commonly is not the case. Often when interior remodeling has been done and the assessor is unaware of the improvement or other homes in the neighborhood have not been reassessed for years or more, it may vary wildly.

Myth: The value of a house will differ depending upon if the appraisal is conducted for the buyer or the seller.

Fact: The value of the house does not affect the payment of the appraiser; as such, the appraiser has no pressured interest in the worth of the property. Obviously, he will provide services with impartiality and objectivity regardless for whom the appraisal is conducted.

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

Fact: Market value is acquired by what a willing buyer would likely pay a willing seller for a particular home, with neither being under undue influence to buy or sell. If the property were rebuilt, the dollar amount necessary to do so would form the replacement cost.

Myth: There are certain ways that real estate appraisers use to determine the cost of a home, like the price per square foot.

Fact: An appraisal report is an assertion of data concluded from the home's size, location, proximity to specific facilities, the condition of the house and the value of recent comparable sales. You can depend on Personal Service Realty's Residential Valuation Group's staff to be forthright in assessing this data.

Myth: In a strong economy - when the costs of homes in a given county are reported to be rising by a certain percentage - the worth of individual houses in the proximity can be expected to increase by that same percentage.

Fact: Any cost at which an appraiser concludes concerning a certain house is always personalized, based on certain factors pulled from the information of comparable houses and other considerations within the property itself. It doesn't matter if the economy is doing well or declining.

Have other questions about appraisers, appraising or real estate in Duval County or Jacksonville, FL?

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Myth: Just examining what the house looks like on the outside gives a good idea of its worth.



Fact: Legally, the document is owned by the lending company unless the lender releases their interest in the document. However, consumers must be supplied with a copy of the report upon written request, through the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.


Fact: A consumer should definitely inspect their document; there might be some questions or some worries with the accuracy of the inspection that need to be addressed. Remember, this is probably the most expensive and important investment a consumer will ever make. There is a great deal of information stored in an appraisal report that should 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 vicinity.

Myth: There is no reason to hire an appraiser unless you are trying to get an estimate of the cost of a home during a sales transaction involving a lending agency.


Myth: You shouldn't need to get an appraisal if you order a home inspection.

Fact: A home inspection report has a completely different purpose than an appraisal report. The purpose of the appraiser is to form an opinion of value in the appraisal process and through producing the report. A home inspector determines the condition of the building and its major components and reports these findings.

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