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Find / Hire Someone Good

Find an Appraiser:

Typical bad advice - Wall St Journal. The bottom of the article has the advice - make sure you ask.... I see this over and over - not just about appraisers, but doctors, lawyers, you name it. The newspaper or the TV news always ends the piece with the questions to ask. First and foremost, the questions are usually stupid, but more to the point, they never say what you should do with the answer. For example - this article says to "ask how long the business has been around". So lets say I talk to 3 appraisers - one says they have been around 5 years, one says 7 years, and one says 15 years. Are they suggesting I should go with the 15 because more is better? All they say is to ask the question, there is never any advice on what to do with the answer. Do they think that I will rule out the "business" that has only been "around" 6 months, because when I ask this critical question, they are going to say (admit) they have been "around" 6 months. I wonder if the author of this article actually tried these questions in a real life setting and concluded that these particular questions would actually accomplish something positive. Can you imagine trying to select an appraiser based on what "professional education" the appraiser has had? One appraiser is a member of the American Society of Appraisers, one is a member of Appraisal Institute, and another is not a member of anything. Which is best? Do you rule out the one who is not a member, or hire that one because he has the good sense to not be wasting money on "pay to play" organizations. Can anyone find any evidence that membership in these (or any other) organization improves the chances of success? I would sure like to see it. In my experience, these groups/clubs are losing credibility and losing membership at a rapid pace. It's not to say that all the members are bad appraisers. The evidence I see is that membership in the "club" means very little -- chances of finding a good appraiser are about the same as with the non-members.

May 19, 2006

by: Marshall Leob
Market Watch
Wall St Journal

Price Your Home Right to Help Speed a Sale

With home sales slumping and inventories on the rise, experts say getting your home sold depends a lot on pricing it correctly. One tool sellers can fall back on when the market is shifting is a home appraisal.

You can have an appraisal done before you contact a broker or if you're just curious what your home would be worth. They cost, on average, from $250 to $400 for a single-family home, slightly more for multiple-family dwellings.

An appraiser will physically inspect your house for shoddy workmanship or needed repairs, measure its dimensions and takes notes on the floor plan, utilities and other factors that affect pricing.

He or she should also look at three or four "comps" -- comparable homes in your neighborhood that have sold within the past six months -- and analyze how homes currently on the market are faring, says William J. Doka, owner and president of Erickson Appraisal Company in Fair Lawn, NJ.

That's a more comprehensive assessment of market conditions than the free comparative market analysis, or CMA, that a broker will give you, says Doka.

He cautions that brokers want to earn your listing and can be tempted to paint an overly rosy picture of how your home will sell while appraisers, although sometimes subject to similar pressure from mortgage brokers, strive to be objective.

The results of the appraisal will be presented to you in a report that can run from five pages, for a simple summary that suits most lenders and homeowners, to 50 pages or more for a "narrative" that banks might demand before financing the purchase of a multimillion-dollar home.

Homes are typically listed for sale at a price several percent above the appraised value.

Predictably, most of Doka's business comes from lenders, who typically require an outside appraisal before making a loan. But homeowners are also hiring him before contacting a broker. He charges from $350 to $400 to appraise a single-family home.

Some things to remember when looking for an appraiser:

Make sure the appraiser is licensed by your state.
Ask how long the business has been around, what professional education the appraiser has had and what organizations -- like the Appraisal Institute or the American Society of Appraisers -- the appraiser belongs to.

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