What to expect for your upcoming appraisal site visit

So, you are selling your house or perhaps refinancing your mortgage.  The bank hires an appraiser to estimate the market value of your property.  What should you expect for the upcoming appraisal site visit?  Let's discuss.

• ​Our office will reach out by phone, email, or text to schedule an appointment.  If your house is listed with a realtor, we will schedule the site visit through them.  
• We will introduce ourselves when we arrive at your property.  Next, we measure the exterior of the house and any other outbuildings you may have.  Afterwards, we will measure the attached garage if one is present.  Lastly, we will go through the interior of the home room by room while taking notes and photos.
• Once the property has been observed, we will mostly likely ask a few questions about condition, mechanical components, any recent updates or upgrades, deferred maintenance, etc.  
• The site visit typically takes 30 minutes to 1 hour.  However, there are some exceptions.  Larger homes, two-story homes, or homes with angles can take longer to measure.
• A few site visit requests include the following: dogs or other pets be crated or shuffled away from us during the site visit; have all rooms, mechanical closets, or other areas readily accessible to view; and if a VA, FHA, or USDA appraisal is being done, the attic and crawl space need to be accessible.

Questions we typically receive:

​Does the appraiser have to come inside? 
It depends on the type of loan and client requirements; however, the vast majority of the time the answer is yes.

Does the homeowner have to be present for the appraisal site visit? 
If we have access to your property through a realtor or their lockbox, then no.  Otherwise, you or a stand-in must arrange access (children are not allowed to be a stand-in).

Do you take pictures of closets or other personal property? 
We do not take pictures of closets.  We do not consider personal property in our appraisal reports, thus we do not specifically take photos of any personal property.  However, furniture and other items may be included in our photos as we photograph each room. Any photos that include sensitive items, family portraits, etc will be blurred in our report.

Who will see the photos or appraisal?
Only the lender/client (whoever ordered the appraisal) will receive the appraisal that includes photos.

Will the county appraisal district get a copy of the appraisal or be notified of the opinion of value? 
No.  Only the lender/client will receive the appraisal.

Is it okay to provide a list of recent updates or upgrades?
Yes, absolutely.  We always welcome additional data.

​Hopefully this basic information will help you know what to expect on an upcoming appraisal site visit. If you have any questions regarding an appraisal site visit, please do not hesitate to contact us!
-Brady