Real Estate Appraisals

Sales of existing homes dropped further in March by the largest amount in nearly 20 years reflecting bad weather and increasing problems in the subprime mortgage market, a real estate trade group reported Tuesday.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell by 8.4 percent in March, compared to February. It was the biggest one-month decline since a 12.6 percent plunge in January 1989, another period of recession conditions in housing.

The troubles in mortgage lending are also playing a significant part in declining homes sales. Lenders have tightened standards with the rising delinquencies in mortgages especially in the subprime market, where borrowers with weak credit histories obtained their loans.

Call or email us with any questions or to order an appraisal.

Single Family Homes or Condominiums

Up to 3,000 Gross Living Area SQFT - $350
3,000-4000 Gross Living Area SQFT - $400
4,000 - up Gross Living Area SQFT - $600

Drive-by inspection report - $300
Limited scope appraisal of a single-family home (including units in condominium or PUD projects). Drive-by only, no interior inspection.

Multi units:
2 Units - $450
3 Units - $500
4 Units - $550

442 Form or recert of value report $100
The purpose of this report form is to provide the lender/client with an accurate update of an appraisal and/or to report a certification of completion.

Rent Schedule $75
The form is prepared by the appraiser as an attachment to the appraisal for a single-family investment property. The lender should retain the original of the form and the appraiser, the copy. The form is designed to present the information needed to determine the market rent for a single-family property. It calls for information on the physical structure, location, and lease terms.

For homeowners, a real estate appraisal is the crux to buying or selling their home. It allows the property transactions to occur among the buyer, seller, real estate agent and mortgage lender.

Before an Appraiser arrives, there are a few things you should know. By law, an appraiser must be state licensed to perform appraisals prepared for federally related transactions. Also by law, you are entitled to receive a copy of the completed appraisal report from your lender, but you must ask for it from your lender.

To facilitate the appraisal process, it’s beneficial to have these documents ready for the appraiser:

Information on the latest purchase of the property in the last three years
List of any personal property to be sold with the home
Title policy that describes encroachments or easements
Most recent real estate tax bill and or legal description of the property
Home inspection reports, or other recent reports for termites, EIFS (synthetic stucco) wall systems, septic systems and wells
Brag sheet that lists major home improvements and upgrades, the date of their installation and their cost (for example, the addition of central air conditioning or roof repairs) and permit confirmation (if available)
A copy of the current listing agreement and broker’s data sheet and Purchase Agreement if a sale is “pending”.
Information on “Homeowners Associations” or condominium covenants and fees.
A list of “Proposed” improvements if the property is to be appraised “As Complete”.
Once your appraiser has arrived, you do not need to accompany him or her along on the entire site inspection, but you should be available to answer questions about your property and be willing to point out any home improvements.

Here are some other suggestions:

Accessibility: Make sure that all areas of the home are accessible, especially to the attic and crawl space
Housekeeping: Appraisers see hundreds of homes a year and will look past most clutter, but they’re human beings too! A good impression can translate into a higher home value
Maintenance: Repair minor things like leaky faucets, missing door handles and trim
FHA/VA Inspection Items: If your borrower is applying for an FHA/VA loan, be sure to ask your appraiser if there are specific things that should be done before they come. Some items they may recommend might be: Install smoke detectors on all levels (especially near bedrooms); install handrails on all stairways; remove peeling paint and repaint the effected area; provide inspection access to the attic and crawl spaces.

We make no warranties of any kind regarding the documents and information on this website and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented. We give no assurances that use of information on this site will not infringe upon privately owned rights. Thus disclaims all liability of any kind whatsoever arising out of the use of, or inability to use, this site and the information contained in it.

Views and opinions expressed by individual authors do not necessarily state or reflect those of USPAP, The Appraisal Foundation or other supporting bodies, and may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

The Appraiser Qualifications Board of The Appraisal Foundation adopted changes to the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria that will become effective on January 1, 2008. These changes represent the minimum national requirements that each state must implement for individuals applying for a real estate appraiser license or certification as of January 1, 2008.
The major components of the appraiser qualification criteria change are Qualifying education experience.

1. There are college-level course requirements for the Certified Residential and Certified General classifications.
2. The required number of classroom hours in appraisal education has increased significantly in all three licensure classifications.
3. There are minimum classroom hours of coverage requirements for specific topic areas, which are known as modules.

Official Executive Summary.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) are the generally accepted standards for professional appraisal practice in North America. USPAP contains standards for all types of appraisal services. Standards are included for real estate, personal property, business and mass appraisal.

The Office of Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) in its quarterly same-house market report last January, stated, sort of in passing, that the rate of housing appreciation declines as the rate of refinancing rises. The report does not offer a reason for this phenomenon, nor does OFHEO, which has regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, appear particularly concerned, but the reason seems fairly transparent. Many people who are refinancing have sufficient equity so that, even if with a cash out for debt consolidation or other reasons, may not have a critical need to hit a value point (the amount of the desired mortgage). However, in many home purchases buyers are being qualified based on a certain amount of down payment. For someone putting 20 percent down, a low appraisal might reduce the loan to value (LTV) to 85 percent and force the buyer to pay for Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). For buyers with only 5 percent to put down, a low appraisal may end their homeownership dream and the lender’s commission. In many refinances an appraiser doesn’t have to push very hard to find comparables that will allow a comfortable loan to value for the proposed mortgage.

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the Attorneys General and banking regulators of 48 states announced a $325 million agreement with the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lender to overhaul its existing sales, appraisal and closing practices.

The two-year investigation revealed that Ameriquest created a hyper-aggressive, high pressure sales culture that encouraged its sales personnel to engage in deceptive and fraudulent conduct, including:

• Charging consumers thousands of dollars in discount points that resulted in higher commissions for sales personnel but failed to yield a lower interest rate for borrowers;
• Concealing the interest rate and loan costs during the application process;
• Sending inaccurate “good faith estimates”;
• Making misleading comparisons between borrowers’ existing loans and Ameriquest’s loan proposals;
• Falsifying loan documents to push through loans, including inflating borrowers’ incomes;
• Pressuring appraisers to inflate the values of borrowers’ homes;
• Closing loans before they were approved by the corporate office; and
• Failing to fund loans in a timely fashion.

The settlement agreement requires Ameriquest to:

• Provide the same interest rates and discount points for similarly situated consumers;
• Provide full written and oral disclosures regarding interest rates, discount points and prepayment penalties, and provide important information regarding consumers’ pricing options;
• Overhaul its appraisal practices by prohibiting sales personnel from selecting, contacting, or attempting to influence appraisers;
• Provide accurate good faith estimates;
• Refrain from soliciting borrowers for refinancing within two years of the original loan, except under limited circumstances;
• Use independent loan closers; and
• Adopt policies to protect whistle-blowers and facilitate reporting of improper conduct.

We specialize in appraising single family homes and townhouse/condominiums. Our service area includes Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino.

Our goal is to provide quality appraisal services with excellent turn around times and competitive rates.

Being residents and natives of the area, we know the communities and market conditions very well. Our in-depth knowledge of the area and the real estate market helps produce a well informed opinion of value.

We are committed to our clients, because of todays busy work schedules and time contraints we understand that not all appraisals inspections can be performed during regular business hours, we are available seven days a week and after 5 PM.

To schedule an appraisal please contact:

Due to the large amount of ARM type mortages adjusting to a highter rate we can soon expect a refinance frenzy, not to mention a fair amount of foreclosure and bank REO appraisal work.  ARM adjustments can boost mortage payments as much as 30 percent more per month.