Do you ever wonder if all real estate appraisals are the same? After all, all appraisers will think the same and use the same comparable data and come to the same conclusion, right? Absolutely not! Every single appraiser and therefore every single appraisal will be unique.
I completed an appraisal review the other week.
When completing an appraisal review, the objective is to review another appraiser's work and to determine if the appraiser completed the appraisal the correct way.
Do you know what I found out? This appraiser did not explain the reason why he used the sales.
This appraiser did not select comparable sales that bracketed the subject's lot size.
This appraiser did not select comparable sales that bracketed the subject square footage.
Do you think this affects the estimated value in the appraisal? You bet it does.
While it does not take a rocket scientist to be a good real estate appraiser, the appraiser must understand and complete basic research and be completely objective and unbiased.
This means taking the good with the bad.
This means not just using comparable sales, but using the best comparable sales, even if this is a blend of sales to support all unique features of your home.
I emailed some of the largest companies in the industry that manage appraisers all over the United States.
My goal was to build a list of the best appraisers in their class.
Such as the best appraiser, the appraiser with the fastest turn time, the appraiser with the best communication skills, etc.
Guess what I found out.
All of this information is confidential.
If all of this information is confidential, this makes is extremely difficult to locate good real estate appraisers that write good appraisals.
So here is the secret.
The best thing that you can do is to ask a lot of questions.
Remember, always let the appraiser be an appraiser and complete the appraisal with no influence from you whether you are the buyer, the seller or loan officer.
This will lead to a better appraisal.