What is an Appraisal

The value of a piece of Real Estate determined  by an unbiased professional, "A Real Estate Appraiser" is known as a Real Estate Appraisal. It is a key component of the buying and selling  process of a home or Refinancing an existing home. If the Appraisal Value comes in lower than expected, the Loan transaction can be delayed or in some cases, cancelled altogether. In a new home purchase, an appraisal is used to determine whether the home's contract price is appropriate based upon the condition of the home, its features and the location. For a Refinance transaction, the Appraisal value is used to determine whether the lender is handing the money to the borrower in proportion to actual worth of the home. The subject property serves as collateral and the lenders want to assure that they can recover the borrowed money in case of a foreclosure. 

The Real Estate Appraiser makes an in-person visit to the subject property for inspection, and typically utilizes a "comparison approach" to determine the value of the property based upon recent sales of similar properties in the area. The Real Estate Appraiser would factor in the current market trends and other aspects of the home including amenities, floor plan, square footage to determine the Appraisal value of the Property. 

The buyer usually pays for the appraisal fee and it varies based upon the geographic location of the Property. 

A Six Page Sample Uniform Residential Appraisal Report is as follows:

Page 1 - Uniform Residential Appraisal Report

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Page 2 - Uniform Residential Appraisal Report

Page 4- Uniform Residential Appraisal Report

Page 6 - Uniform Residential Appraisal Report