Buying & Selling Appraisals

Most people set an asking price using an agent’s opinion and an online estimate, then spend the next several months finding out whether it was right. An appraisal gets you the answer at the front of the process instead of the back.

Pre-Listing Appraisals

If you are selling, a pre-listing appraisal does three things worth paying for:

• It prices the home correctly the first time. Overpriced listings sit, go stale, and eventually sell below what they would have brought with an accurate initial price. Underpriced ones leave money behind.
• It gives you leverage in negotiation. When a buyer challenges your price, “here is the appraisal” is a considerably stronger response than “that is what my agent said.”
• It heads off appraisal problems at closing. If a lender’s appraisal comes in low, the deal stalls. Knowing the supportable value in advance means fewer surprises.

This applies with extra force if you are selling by owner (FSBO), where you have no agent providing market analysis at all, or if the home is unusual — acreage, heavy renovation, a rural parcel, or anything else with thin comparable data.

Pre-Purchase Appraisals

Buyers order appraisals for their own protection more often than people realize. The lender’s appraisal happens after you are already under contract and it works for the lender, not for you. An independent appraisal before you write an offer tells you whether the asking price is defensible — and, in a competitive market, how far you can reasonably stretch without overpaying.

Also Useful For

• Family transfers. Selling a home to a relative below market value has gift tax implications. An appraisal documents the fair market value.
• Employee relocation. Relocation packages routinely require an independent valuation.
• New construction. Establishing value on a home that has no direct comparables yet.
• Settling a disagreement. When two parties simply cannot agree on a number, a third-party appraisal is the cheapest way to end it.

Fast Turnaround When the Clock Matters

Real estate deadlines do not wait. We schedule inspections quickly, deliver reports electronically, and are reachable 24/7 — because inspection periods have a habit of expiring on weekends.