Selecting a real estate appraiser sounds like a task that is almost overbearing. However, you would be surprised to realize that it is not quite as difficult as you think. This is one of the most exciting times of your life, whether it is your first home, second home,vacation home or a rental and the selection of your real estate appraiser should be just as exciting.
While it may sound lengthy, it is not a lengthy process. To begin, take a deep breath and relax and realize when you find a real estate agent you can trust the process is simple. Search for someone that you feel comfortable with, let them know what you expect from them and make sure that they can commit.
When searching for a appraiser, make a list of appraisers in your area. There are many ways to do this. You can start with the phone book and look in your local area. You can also access the Internet and search. Both these resources will bring you valuable information on finding an appraiser in your area. This is truly the easiest method when searching for an agent.
There are things that you should be aware to discuss when interviewing your real estate appraisers. You should ask what exactly their services include and how much they will cost. You will find that your responses will vary.
When you do feel as though as though you have found an appraiser that is someone that you are comfortable with you will want to ensure that you build a working relationship by placing your utmost into the process. Be sure not to make the selection with the first real estate appraiser you talk to. The more appraisers you talk to about their services with, the better you will recognize the right appraiser when you speak with them.
This is not a difficult process…in fact, it can be relaxed and enjoyable. Do your research and allow yourself enough time to find an appraiser that is the right fit.
By: Ashlee Pannell
About the Author:
By Ashlee Pannell: A Dallas Real Estate Broker, With Nu Home Source Realty a Dallas Real Estate Company. We are Home of the 20% Commission rebate to most of our buyers. Ask about our bucks for buyers program.
(C) Copyright, Nu Home Source Realty LLC. All rights reserved
Are Real Estate Appraisers and Mortgage Brokers to Blame For the Current Economic Crisis? Am I?
Did mortgage brokers start the whole downturn in the economy? I don’t think they are the only ones to blame, but as a former real estate appraiser I do think they had a major hand in getting things started in that direction. But so did the real estate appraisers who should have been regulating the mortgage brokers. The following is my short lived time in the real estate business in Southern California.
The time was about 5 years ago in Southern California. Home prices were soaring, mortgage rates were dropping, and everybody was talking about how much more their house was worth than what they paid for it. Times were good, especially for people involved in the real estate business. So good, that I decided to join up as a real estate appraiser. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Not so much now.
As I was getting started working for another appraiser it was incredibly busy. My training to work for this appraiser was basically one week long. That is probably not what you wanted to hear when the purchase of your $500,000 house was relying on me. My training involved two days of working on typing reports and what goes into them. It was mostly cut and paste with a few simple changes such as correct address and property information, and neighborhood boundaries.
My next day involved choosing the right comps. Comps are nothing more than comparable properties to the property being sold. To choose the comps involved getting a list of properties sold over the last year within a certain range of size of house, lot, number of bedrooms, etc… As my told me, “Just list them by price and choose the five highest. The market is going up anyways.” I was beginning to have doubts about all of this, but was still hanging around.
My final two days involved going out and measuring the house and taking pictures. This wasn’t much different than the other days. I was told to not worry about getting exact measurements because they could fudge the measurements on the computer to make the measurements match. I was also told to make the pictures of the house being sold to look as good as possible, and to make the comps look as bad as possible in the picture.
That was it. That was all of my training from this well known professional appraiser. The next week he was sending me assignments that I would go do on my own, write my own report and email it to him. He would then sign it and send it to the mortgage broker. He would not even go out and look at the property and he was signing that he did and that it was worth enough to qualify for the loan! Anybody starting to get upset about that $400 appraisal fee yet?
Now on to the mortgage brokers, these guys were great while the market kept going up. Things changed a little bit as the market started dropping. These same people that were telling you to your face how they were going to help you really only cared about closing your loan and getting paid. No matter how they did it. As the market dropped they would go from one appraiser to another until they got a value that they needed to close the loan, and the only appraiser to get paid was the one who came up with the value that was needed. These guys were trying to get everyone they could into an interest only adjustable arm mortgage by telling them that the market was still going up. They were doing this because they made more in fees on these types of loans, and knew if rates went up in a year people would come back and refinance again. The people you thought were helping you get the American Dream were making money putting you into the American nightmare. I knew my time had come to get out. I felt like I did an honest job doing appraisals and I could not get work anymore because dishonest appraisers would inflate the values. I was done.
So who is to blame? Was it the real estate appraisers who just wanted to keep the mortgage brokers happy? Was it the mortgage brokers who just wanted to close as many loans as possible? Was it the homeowner who was greedy or was talked into buying something that he couldn’t afford? Was it the financial analyst on Wall Street who bought these mortgage backed securities without knowing what was going on?
I think that everybody involved in the process had a hand in starting this financial crisis. Everybody from the homeowner who knew they couldn’t afford the house to the financial analyst who should have done their homework on these subprime, no documentation loans had a hand in getting our country into this economic mess, including myself. But that’s just my opinion.
By: Jay Sherman
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Did mortgage brokers start the whole downturn in the economy? I don’t think they are the only ones to blame, but as a former real estate appraiser I do think they had a major hand in getting things started in that direction. But so did the real estate appraisers who should have been regulating the mortgage brokers. The following is my short lived time in the real estate business in Southern California.
The time was about 5 years ago in Southern California. Home prices were soaring, mortgage rates were dropping, and everybody was talking about how much more their house was worth than what they paid for it. Times were good, especially for people involved in the real estate business. So good, that I decided to join up as a real estate appraiser. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Not so much now.
As I was getting started working for another appraiser it was incredibly busy. My training to work for this appraiser was basically one week long. That is probably not what you wanted to hear when the purchase of your $500,000 house was relying on me. My training involved two days of working on typing reports and what goes into them. It was mostly cut and paste with a few simple changes such as correct address and property information, and neighborhood boundaries.
My next day involved choosing the right comps. Comps are nothing more than comparable properties to the property being sold. To choose the comps involved getting a list of properties sold over the last year within a certain range of size of house, lot, number of bedrooms, etc… As my told me, “Just list them by price and choose the five highest. The market is going up anyways.” I was beginning to have doubts about all of this, but was still hanging around.
My final two days involved going out and measuring the house and taking pictures. This wasn’t much different than the other days. I was told to not worry about getting exact measurements because they could fudge the measurements on the computer to make the measurements match. I was also told to make the pictures of the house being sold to look as good as possible, and to make the comps look as bad as possible in the picture.
That was it. That was all of my training from this well known professional appraiser. The next week he was sending me assignments that I would go do on my own, write my own report and email it to him. He would then sign it and send it to the mortgage broker. He would not even go out and look at the property and he was signing that he did and that it was worth enough to qualify for the loan! Anybody starting to get upset about that $400 appraisal fee yet?
Now on to the mortgage brokers, these guys were great while the market kept going up. Things changed a little bit as the market started dropping. These same people that were telling you to your face how they were going to help you really only cared about closing your loan and getting paid. No matter how they did it. As the market dropped they would go from one appraiser to another until they got a value that they needed to close the loan, and the only appraiser to get paid was the one who came up with the value that was needed. These guys were trying to get everyone they could into an interest only adjustable arm mortgage by telling them that the market was still going up. They were doing this because they made more in fees on these types of loans, and knew if rates went up in a year people would come back and refinance again. The people you thought were helping you get the American Dream were making money putting you into the American nightmare. I knew my time had come to get out. I felt like I did an honest job doing appraisals and I could not get work anymore because dishonest appraisers would inflate the values. I was done.
So who is to blame? Was it the real estate appraisers who just wanted to keep the mortgage brokers happy? Was it the mortgage brokers who just wanted to close as many loans as possible? Was it the homeowner who was greedy or was talked into buying something that he couldn’t afford? Was it the financial analyst on Wall Street who bought these mortgage backed securities without knowing what was going on?
I think that everybody involved in the process had a hand in starting this financial crisis. Everybody from the homeowner who knew they couldn’t afford the house to the financial analyst who should have done their homework on these subprime, no documentation loans had a hand in getting our country into this economic mess, including myself. But that’s just my opinion.
By: Jay Sherman
About the Author:
Choosing a Reputable Real Estate Appraiser
When you are considering purchasing a property; either for investment or personal use you will need to hire a real estate appraiser. If you are financing the purchase through your credit union or another financial institution will most likely be required to hire a real estate appraiser to perform an appraisal on the property. This is because your Credit Union wants to ensure that your dream home doesn’t become a nightmare and that the purchase they are financing is really worth the amount loaned.
In the best case scenarios the appraisal is returned indicating that the fair market value of the home meets or exceeds the sales price. The problem comes in when the appraisal indicates that the fair market value of the home is less than the sales price. In the latter case, the prospective buyer would either need to drop the deal or renegotiate the sales price with the seller.
As you can see, it is critically important that you find a reputable and competent real estate appraiser. That one appraisal can easily make or break a deal. Even if you are not financing the purchase through a lending institution it is still worth the effort to insure that the property you are investing in is really worth the amount of the purchase. If you should hire a less than competent real estate appraiser you find out the hard way later on that the property you purchased was not really worth the amount that you paid.
real estate appraisers perform an evaluation of a property and then provide a written evaluation after consulting standardized checklists and comparing the property in question to county land value sources and sales information on nearby similar properties. The estimation of replacement costs is also taken into consideration. Finally, real estate appraisers must be able to verify legal land descriptions. As you can see, there is quite a bit of work involved in performing a competent real estate appraisal and it is important that each step be performed accurately.
You real estate agent will most likely be able to suggest a real estate appraiser but this does not necessarily mean this is the right person for the job; it merely means this is the person they most often work with. To get the job done right you need to find a real estate appraiser who is able to perform a completely objective evaluation.
Look for someone who has been formally trained and who possess a license with the state real estate commission to perform such appraisals. Also look for someone who possesses adequate experience in performing real estate appraisals and who is knowledgeable about the local real estate market. Some states require real estate appraisers to have experience as a real estate agent and to hold a current real estate license; even if your state is not one of these it may be a good idea to look for someone with these qualities anyway because they probably have their finger on the pulse of the local real estate market.
Like real estate agents, appraisers commonly specialize in certain types of real estate. Some specialize in commercial properties while others work only in residential properties. Some appraisers even specialize in only high end or luxury properties. Many consumers find it beneficial to select a real estate appraiser who specializes in the specific type of property they wish to have appraised. Finally, don’t forget to ask for references and/or recommendations from any real estate appraiser you consider.
By: Nicole Soltau
About the Author:
When you are considering purchasing a property; either for investment or personal use you will need to hire a real estate appraiser. If you are financing the purchase through your credit union or another financial institution will most likely be required to hire a real estate appraiser to perform an appraisal on the property. This is because your Credit Union wants to ensure that your dream home doesn’t become a nightmare and that the purchase they are financing is really worth the amount loaned.
In the best case scenarios the appraisal is returned indicating that the fair market value of the home meets or exceeds the sales price. The problem comes in when the appraisal indicates that the fair market value of the home is less than the sales price. In the latter case, the prospective buyer would either need to drop the deal or renegotiate the sales price with the seller.
As you can see, it is critically important that you find a reputable and competent real estate appraiser. That one appraisal can easily make or break a deal. Even if you are not financing the purchase through a lending institution it is still worth the effort to insure that the property you are investing in is really worth the amount of the purchase. If you should hire a less than competent real estate appraiser you find out the hard way later on that the property you purchased was not really worth the amount that you paid.
real estate appraisers perform an evaluation of a property and then provide a written evaluation after consulting standardized checklists and comparing the property in question to county land value sources and sales information on nearby similar properties. The estimation of replacement costs is also taken into consideration. Finally, real estate appraisers must be able to verify legal land descriptions. As you can see, there is quite a bit of work involved in performing a competent real estate appraisal and it is important that each step be performed accurately.
You real estate agent will most likely be able to suggest a real estate appraiser but this does not necessarily mean this is the right person for the job; it merely means this is the person they most often work with. To get the job done right you need to find a real estate appraiser who is able to perform a completely objective evaluation.
Look for someone who has been formally trained and who possess a license with the state real estate commission to perform such appraisals. Also look for someone who possesses adequate experience in performing real estate appraisals and who is knowledgeable about the local real estate market. Some states require real estate appraisers to have experience as a real estate agent and to hold a current real estate license; even if your state is not one of these it may be a good idea to look for someone with these qualities anyway because they probably have their finger on the pulse of the local real estate market.
Like real estate agents, appraisers commonly specialize in certain types of real estate. Some specialize in commercial properties while others work only in residential properties. Some appraisers even specialize in only high end or luxury properties. Many consumers find it beneficial to select a real estate appraiser who specializes in the specific type of property they wish to have appraised. Finally, don’t forget to ask for references and/or recommendations from any real estate appraiser you consider.
By: Nicole Soltau
About the Author:
Nicole Soltau is the President and Founder of CreditUnionRate.com.
The Leading Credit Union Directory. Search, Find, Join. http://CreditUnionRate.com
How to Become a Real Estate Appraiser
Learning how to become a real estate appraiser starts with an introduction to the work itself. real estate appraisers will either work for themselves or are part of a larger company. Many work for lending institutions, including banks and mortgage companies. Appraising property is necessary before a bank or other lender will approve a mortgage for a home buyer. Appraisers will look at many factors when examining a properties value. These would include:
Size of the home and the land Age of the home General condition of the property The surrounding area and neighborhood Market value of similar homes in the same area
A real estate appraiser needs to pay attention to detail and be good with numbers. Gaining expertise through experience and training is the key on learning how to become a successful appraiser.
Training to become a real estate appraiser
Each state has criteria that must be met to become a state licensed appraiser. Most states require work experience and educational requirements, including passing state exams. Many states allow for appraisal online course learning. Taking an online course offers the flexibility to study on your own time.
Most states require a minimum 90 hour pre-license course, followed by a proctored exam. This means that after you have completed the appraisal course, the school administrator will arrange a local proctor to arrange a test setting under that person’s supervision.
These appraiser courses follow the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices (USPAP) and their rules and guidelines. The majority of the appraiser course will teach the fundamentals of real estate appraisal and how to evaluate properties effectively and professionally.
Continuing education is required after you are state licensed. Many of these courses can be delivered online. State requirements for initial training and continuing education vary.
Real estate Appraisal Job Demand
Gaining real work experience is the most important part of becoming a real estate appraiser. The competition in this field is growing, but the real estate market continues to grow and the opportunities are there for the right person. Real estate agents, home inspectors and real estate appraisers are in high demand in many areas of the country. Many people who work in this field do it part time. This is the same for home inspectors.
Put some thought into what you want to do. Learn how to become a real estate appraiser in your state. Good luck!
By: Nick Hunter
About the Author:
Learning how to become a real estate appraiser starts with an introduction to the work itself. real estate appraisers will either work for themselves or are part of a larger company. Many work for lending institutions, including banks and mortgage companies. Appraising property is necessary before a bank or other lender will approve a mortgage for a home buyer. Appraisers will look at many factors when examining a properties value. These would include:
Size of the home and the land Age of the home General condition of the property The surrounding area and neighborhood Market value of similar homes in the same area
A real estate appraiser needs to pay attention to detail and be good with numbers. Gaining expertise through experience and training is the key on learning how to become a successful appraiser.
Training to become a real estate appraiser
Each state has criteria that must be met to become a state licensed appraiser. Most states require work experience and educational requirements, including passing state exams. Many states allow for appraisal online course learning. Taking an online course offers the flexibility to study on your own time.
Most states require a minimum 90 hour pre-license course, followed by a proctored exam. This means that after you have completed the appraisal course, the school administrator will arrange a local proctor to arrange a test setting under that person’s supervision.
These appraiser courses follow the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices (USPAP) and their rules and guidelines. The majority of the appraiser course will teach the fundamentals of real estate appraisal and how to evaluate properties effectively and professionally.
Continuing education is required after you are state licensed. Many of these courses can be delivered online. State requirements for initial training and continuing education vary.
Real estate Appraisal Job Demand
Gaining real work experience is the most important part of becoming a real estate appraiser. The competition in this field is growing, but the real estate market continues to grow and the opportunities are there for the right person. Real estate agents, home inspectors and real estate appraisers are in high demand in many areas of the country. Many people who work in this field do it part time. This is the same for home inspectors.
Put some thought into what you want to do. Learn how to become a real estate appraiser in your state. Good luck!
By: Nick Hunter
About the Author:
Nick Hunter is the President of American Investment Training (AIT) http://www.aitraining.com and the owner of http://www.propertytrainingcourse.com – a real estate training website.
Real Estate Appraisers
Whether you are buying or selling a home, business or parcel of land the need for an expert opinion about the worth of the property is critical to all parties involved. real estate appraisers are trained and experienced in the art of figuring out how much property is worth. They take into consideration many factors and come up with an professional opinion about the monetary value of the property.
For a typical home purchase, the Appraisers will take into consideration how old the home is, how large the home is, any renovations that have taken place after the initial construction as well as the overall value of the land the home sits on. It will also take into consideration where the home is located, the proximity to parks, schools, freeways and other geographical variables. Two items that are directly influenced by the final decision of the real estate appraisers value of the home will certainly be the monetary amount of future bank loans and the price at which the home can be sold at.
When looking for the right Appraisers it is important to do your research and make sure they have their proper credentials. Laws vary from State to State with the majority of US States requiring all Appraisers to undergo extensive training and pass required tests before they get their Real Estate Appraiser credentials. It is also valuable to speak with any past clients of them as this will be the best indication about how they performed their services and a good company will be more than happy to provide a list of satisfied past clients.
By: David Gary Masterson
About the Author:
Whether you are buying or selling a home, business or parcel of land the need for an expert opinion about the worth of the property is critical to all parties involved. real estate appraisers are trained and experienced in the art of figuring out how much property is worth. They take into consideration many factors and come up with an professional opinion about the monetary value of the property.
For a typical home purchase, the Appraisers will take into consideration how old the home is, how large the home is, any renovations that have taken place after the initial construction as well as the overall value of the land the home sits on. It will also take into consideration where the home is located, the proximity to parks, schools, freeways and other geographical variables. Two items that are directly influenced by the final decision of the real estate appraisers value of the home will certainly be the monetary amount of future bank loans and the price at which the home can be sold at.
When looking for the right Appraisers it is important to do your research and make sure they have their proper credentials. Laws vary from State to State with the majority of US States requiring all Appraisers to undergo extensive training and pass required tests before they get their Real Estate Appraiser credentials. It is also valuable to speak with any past clients of them as this will be the best indication about how they performed their services and a good company will be more than happy to provide a list of satisfied past clients.
By: David Gary Masterson
About the Author:
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