The Appraisal Process

A typical real estate appraisal appointment will take approx. 25 minutes, at the
home. That includes both the  interior and exterior inspection. A sketch of the
room layout is made and digital photos are taken of the home as well as any out buildings that may be on the property.

Upon completion of the inspection the real estate appraiser goes to the town hall to obtain a legal description and plot plan of the home being appraised. He will also check assessor records, zoning and building departments for compliance. At this time he will also obtain information on similar property sold in the neighborhood.

Upon return to the office the real estate appraiser will  look for additional information on property that have sold recently in the neighborhood that are close in size, room count. age and style as well as extra features similar to the subject property. This information is obtained from the local Multiple Listing System, Commercial Record and office data files.

After determining the comparable properties that will be used in the real estate appraisal report the appraiser will drive by the homes take an exterior photo and verify as much information as possible from the road. These sales will be used in the market data section of the report and adjustments will be made where the properties differ.

A report containing as much information as possible will be prepared with a description of the materials used, number of rooms, condition and style (colonial, ranch, cape, etc.). The report will also include a description of  the site and neighborhood with positive conditions like proximity to shopping, school and employment or negative conditions like excess traffic, highway noise and nearby commercial property.

A national cost handbook is used to determine what it would cost to rebuild the home today. This will be depreciated based on condition, utility and off property conditions. The income approach to value is seldom used because most single family homes are not used for income purposes.

When all the approaches to value are completed a weighted conclusion of value is determined. The real estate appraisal report is than sent over the internet or mailed to the client usually with in 24 hours after inspection.

                                

                                                                         ABC Appraisal Inc.

                                                                 (203) 239-1988          fax (203) 239-6494