Five New Truths about Home Appraisals

I'm often asked by seller clients, "what do you think my home is worth?'  My response is always, "I'm not 100% sure and here is why...."  

Several years ago, appraisers will running around like crazy fools creating fictitious values in order to make the buyer, lender and seller happy.  That short spurt of chaos ended in 2009 with the roll out of HVCC, a code of conduct that appraisers and lenders must adhere to in order to remain in business.  The adoption of such policies has spurred lenders and appraisers to dot their "i's" and cross their "t's" making it quite difficult for a real estate professional to scour through recently sold and pending data to determine the approximate value a home should sell for and ensure the determined value stays in tact from just listed until the appraisal is returned.  

Cindy Schwalb, a freelance columnist, who frequently writes for AOL Money and Finance confirms what I tell every seller client, "before trying to establish a list price or market the home with some random value we aren't 100% sure is attainable, I recommend hiring an appraiser to help us determine value which ensures we are not blind sided in the future," with her October 2010 Home Appraisals: 5 New Truths write up in the AOL Real Estate section.  

After all, a small up-front out of pocket expense, such as an appraisal, can aide in providing a little extra peace of mind and derail the possibilities of unnecessary future turbulent when it comes to assessing your homes value by today's appraisal standards.