APPRAISAL CONSULTING
US Realty Consultants LLC has a direct connection to a Certified Residential Appraiser here in Massachusetts and will be more than happy to assist with any appraisal or real estate needs you may have.
MANY REASONS TO GET AN APPRAISAL
Every year, countless people in the United States buy, sell, transfer or refinance their property.
- Financing whether buying your forever home, building new, adding an addition, equity loans, second mortgage and so on!
- Private transactions occur when the sale happens between family or friends, are off market, hardship other other situation!
- Estates, Probate and Tax limitation Strategies often requires an appraisal!
- Buying or selling an investment property whether a multi unit or single family for cash flow and equity.
- Placing property in trust, LLC’s or some other structure for legal purposes.
- Fix and Flip is all the rage these days. An appraisal consultation will let you know what it is worth before updates and after updates.
- PMI removal, Tax abatement, Relocation, second homes or just wanting to know whether a home improvement will make sense.
- Second Opinions, reviews and challenges of a previously submitted report.
- Most transactions are probably going to include a formal appraisal because there is financing involved. The Lender initiates the appraisal as a means of documenting the property and whether it offers sufficient collateral value against the loan. The appraiser is a neutral advisor and is considered the lenders’ eyes and ears concerning the property. It is an understood and accepted part of the real estate transaction process.
But is financing the only reason to get an appraisal?
Are there dozens of reasons to request the services of a certified, licensed, independent real estate professional! These are just a few.
PURCHASE OF A HOME
One of the most important issues involved in purchasing a property is developing an opinion of what it’s worth so that you can make an informed offer to purchase. A professional appraisal report performed by a qualified, state-licensed appraiser can provide you with an objective, third-party opinion of a property’s current Market Value. And for the small price of this service, you can give yourself “peace of mind” before making an offer to purchase that you’re offering a fair price for the property.
This is especially handy when buying within the family, for sale by owner, estate sale, or any type of private sale. It can even come in handy when buying through a real estate agent. Knowing the value projections before you are in the middle of negotiations will give you peace of mind.
This is sometimes tough to pull off when it is a seller’s market. A seller’s market means there are more buyers and demand for any given property than there are available for sale. During these markets, there is little time on the market. Multiple buyers are bidding or overbidding on the same property at the same time. It is a stressful free for all.
If it is a flat market or a buyers market it is the reverse. There is a market transition with normal time on the market, no massive frenzy, and potentially more properties for sale than there are buyers. These two markets are perfect for verifying value before formal offers are negotiated. Many times an appraisal in hand can provide much lower prices than what the property is on the market for.
REFINANCE OR GET A HOME EQUITY LOAN
If you need to consolidate bills, need extra space added to your current home, have college tuition to pay, or just want to tap into the equity of your home, you’ll need a new loan. Oftentimes this requires a new appraisal of the property.
If you do not know how much your property is worth or how much you can borrow, you may want to order an appraisal before you jump into all the paperwork and disclosures at the bank.
It happens from time to time that the property is not currently nor projected to be valued where you needed it to be wasting time, energy and money.
Please note, if you do have enough value in the property, the future lender may not want to use the private appraisal you just got. Ask your projected lender early on.
PMI REMOVAL
Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI is the supplemental insurance that many lenders ask home buyers to purchase when the amount loaned is more than 80% of the property value at the time of purchase or refinance.
Very often, this additional payment is folded into the monthly mortgage payment and is quickly forgotten. This is unfortunate because PMI becomes unnecessary when the remaining balance of the loan – whether through market appreciation or principal paydown. When your remaining value dips below this 80% level, you no longer need to pay this extra fee saving you hundreds, if not thousands a year.
The United States Congress passed a law in 1998 (the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998) that requires lenders to remove the PMI payments when the loan-to-value ratio conditions have been met. It never hurts to get rid of this nuisance payment earlier if possible.
Many appraisers offer a specific service for homeowners that believe they have met the 80% loan to value metric. For a nominal fee, the appraiser can provide you with a statement regarding the property value. Some will even take the next step and help you file a challenge with your mortgage company. The costs of these services are often recovered in just a few months of not paying the PMI.
DIVORCE SETTLEMENT
A divorce can be a particularly traumatic experience for both parties and is often further complicated by the difficult decision of “Who gets the house?”.
First off, please understand that an appraiser can never be an advocate. An appraiser will never intentionally help one party over another. Regardless of who hired whom, The value cannot and will not intentionally come in higher or lower to help any certain party. Our Ethics and Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice make sure of that. The property is the property. The value is the value, the market is the market at that given time.
In most divorce cases, the Court won’t usually force the parties involved to “buyout” the other party’s interest, but it may, however, order the sale of the home, so each party gets an equal share of the equity.
Regardless of the particular situation, it’s a good idea to order an appraisal so both parties are fully aware of what the true market value is. If the parties want to sell the home, they’ll have a better idea of what price to set.
And on the flip side, if a “buyout” is the chosen option, both parties should feel like they’ve gotten a fair assessment from a neutral third party. Call us today so we can walk you through the process as your situation requires.
ESTATE LIQUIDATION
The loss of a loved one is a difficult time in life, and settling an estate from a death, or going through the probate process often requires an appraisal to establish Fair Market Value for all the property owned at the time of passing.
The ethics provision within the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) binds us with confidentiality, ensuring the fullest degree of discretion.
Unlike many wealthy individuals, most Americans do not have dedicated estate planners or executors to handle these issues. Also, in most cases, a home or other real property makes up a disproportionate share of the total estate value. Here too, an appraiser can help.
Often the first step in fairly disposing of an estate is to understand its true value. Where property is involved, the appraiser can help determine the true market value at that given time.
At this point, equitable arrangements can more easily be arrived at among disputing parties. Everyone walks away knowing they’ve received a fair deal.
Of course, filing the last tax report for the estate is much easier with an appraisal in hand.
US Realty Consultants LLC has many local connections in the database to assist with most of your needs when dealing with an estate. If you are out of state or just out of the local area, we can help watch over the place, refer contractors and specialists as needed, provide a formal appraisal or act as your real estate specialist when it comes time to place it on the market.
RELOCATION
We understand the stress involved with an employee relocation. We take great care in establishing a convenient appointment time for the appraisal or real estate services inspections. During our thorough inspection, we encourage relocating employees to provide input on the positive attributes of their property, along with information about any recent sales or listings in their neighborhood that they want to consider. The more our people know, the easier the transition will be for all involved.
HOME IMPROVEMENTS TO ADD VALUE
First of all, how long do you plan on being in the property?
Is this improvement for your personal enjoyment while you are still living in the property?
Do you expect a very serious financial return on your improvement when it comes time to sell?
Having the answer to that answered BEFORE spending any money or effort on the improvement itself may be to get an appraiser to consult through the pros and cons of the improvement desired.
Before you decide to sell your home, there are several decisions to be made. First and foremost: “How much should it sell for?”
But don’t forget there may be other equally important questions to ask yourself, such as “Would it be better to paint the entire house before we sell it?”, “Should I put in that third bathroom to make it more desirable to buyers or is that an over improvement?”, “Should I complete my kitchen remodel?”
Many things which we do to our houses affect their value. Unfortunately, not all of them have an equal effect. While kitchen remodels may improve the appeal of a home, they may not add nearly enough to the value to justify the expense. Call in our professionals to figure out where your property should go.
SELLING A HOME
Whether you choose to sell your home on your own or use the assistance of a real estate agent, a professional appraisal can help you make a better-educated decision when determining your selling price.
Unlike a real estate agent, an appraiser has no vested interest in what amount the house sells for. It’s easy for appraisers to step in and give you the information to help you make your decision. Appraiser fees are based on efforts to complete the report and not a percentage of the sales price. So, seeking a professional appraisal can often help homeowners make the best decisions on investing in their homes and setting a fair sales price.
Also, note that the appraiser can consult you on what the current financing market is doing, what problems may occur with various types of buyer financing such as FHA/HUD, VA, or other government-backed financing programs. Different programs have different property criteria and quirks.
FIX AND FLIP
Did you know that an appraiser can tell you what ballpark you should pay for that run-down bank-owned property up the street, the estate property that has been vacant for a year, the two-family property where the landlord does not care anymore? How would you like to negotiate with your own appraisal in your hand? Now take it a step further, and that same appraiser could tell you what to repair at the property, what brings value, and what does not.
Of course, this is just a projection (rough only) of the cost to repair and the repaired value it would project! They are appraisers, not contractors. Would a lender, rehab partner, private finance company, or financial backer love to see that before you write the initial offer, or they make a commitment to the project?
Knowing the AS IS Value!
Knowing the After Repair Value!
Knowing a projected renovation budget to get the property to market value range may just be the ticket you need.
TAX ABATEMENT
Over the decades of my career, I have encountered numerous people complaining about their real estate taxes. No one ever thinks they are low or just right. Well, there are abatement processes for every City and Town. There are also strict timelines that need to be met if you ever want to challenge your specific taxes at some point in time. An appraiser is a perfect consultant for that type of project. Here are three pieces of information you should know:
1) Look up online or call to get your property Assessor Data card. If you own multiple properties, why not do this for all of them? Any mistakes pop up?
2) Ask your tax collector the exact time frame of when your most recent tax value was formulated. Many times it was six or nine months ago. Here in our state, the local assessors subcontract the process to a third party company. When the values come back, the town boards or committees need to accept the values as a whole or correct what may be wrong. Then it is submitted to the State or County assessor board or committee. You can see why there may be a lag in timing and value ranges. An appraiser needs to challenge the same data from the same timeline used as the tax base.
3) Know when the period is to challenge your taxes. It is usually right after when taxes come out and only for a short period. Know that date early on to get the appraiser on the schedule.
UNIQUE PROPERTY
Across this great land of ours, there are some amazing properties.
Sometimes you go through Cities and Towns, and there is a pattern to the size, age, and style of property. Those are known as simple to appraise or cookie cutter. There are more similarities than differences between the physical structures, size or features.
Now and then, an appraiser will run across a unique style, size, location, or situation that is out of the box. From ocean front, mountain top, eastern or western views, one of a kind custom built property, equestrian’s dream property or amazing cabin on a lake.
Regardless of what it is, a proper valuation will need to be made on that property, and it will most likely begin and end with appraisers.
If you own or are thinking of buying a unique property, consult an appraiser. If in Massachusetts – call us! If elsewhere, perhaps we can send a referral to a local professional.
CASH BUYERS & QUICK SALE
We have all seen the commercials or received mailings from people looking to buy the property quickly and with little hassle. It all depends on your exact situation, property, and timeline. It also has a direct connection to how much money you walk away with from the property.
As a real estate professional, I know of many people who should have done so much better with the sale of their property. I have seen tens of thousands of dollars left on the table by sellers too many times. I have also seen some of these cash buyers deal fairly and honestly and provide a fair price for the property regardless of the condition or scenario.
There is also a whole industry that thrives on this exact scenario. These people are called WHOLESALERS. Their goal is to find motivated sellers, most likely under some distress, that need to sell the property quickly and below market. The interesting thing is, most of them never even buy the property. The operate as middle men to the deal and basically put the distressed property owner in contact with the actual investor buyer. They can get paid handsomely for putting these deals together.
Before you find yourself under pressure or thinking you are in the middle of a bad deal, call us ASAP to provide consulting services, whether that is real estate buying and selling or a formal appraisal. If you get one of these offers or are just considering taking it, one call can help you figure out your options.
Don’t leave cash on the table! They are all in the business to make money, don’t let it be with your equity. Find out if it is a fair offer before you accept.