The appraiser determines the value of your home by looking at homes that have sold in the last 12 months in your area. These homes also must be similar for example a split level home can only be compared to other split level homes.

Because appraisers do their job professionally regardless of whether the borrower ends up qualifying for a loan or not, they often require the borrower to pay up front for their services.

For Conventional mortgages and anything covered by the HUD-FHA Direct Endorsement Program, the lender obtains a complete copy of the report detailing the method and basis for the the appraised estimated value.

The term appraisal within the context of mortgages may also be applied to the process by which this estimated value is arrived at.

An appraisal helps the lender obtain an independent opinion of the value of the customer's property, and is used to calculate the transaction's Loan to Value ratio.

If a loan is VA or a HUD application being processed by HUD itself, lenders only receive an abbreviated statement of value with no substantiating information.

Appraisers use a variety of measures and factors to arrive at the estimated value of your property, including the selling prices of comparable properties in your area, the built up area, the condition of the property, etc.

The Appraisal is prepared in the name of the lender bank or the mortgage company that orders the report. Even though the mortgage applicant pays for the appraisal cost, the report does not belong to the him. Federal regulations entitle the home buyer a copy of the report.

Remember an appraisal is simply an opinion of value by a licensed appraiser. It is not a guaranteed value of a home. An appraised value does not mean that is what you should sell your home for. An appraisal however will give you an idea as to what your house is worth compared to other surrounding similar homes.

It is also important to have a recent appraisal of your home. The value of your home may change in relation to other homes in the area without any physical changes to your own residence.

Appraisal - In most cases, lenders require a professional, independent appraisal of the property you want to buy or refinance to ensure that it is worth at least as much as they are being asked to lend on it. If you are making a smaller down payment and have a lower credit score, the lender is going to be even more interested in making sure the property that will be collateral for the loan is worth lending the amount requested.

Comparable sales of similar properties is an approach to evaluate most single family residence. Other approaches, such as the Cost Approach and Income Approach are also used for different types of properties. The Cost Approach is an estimate of the cost to rebuild the property of similar characteristics as the subject property. Income Approach is often used when the subject home generates rental income, such as duplex, triplex and quadplex.

An appraisal is simply an OPINION of value, from someone who is licensed to give such an opinion. Opinions vary from individual to indivdual. Likewise, the appraised value of the home will vary from appraiser to appraiser. However, appraisers base their opinions on comparable sales (what similar houses have sold for in the area recently), as well as other factors. Since the factors used to determine value are the same for every appraiser, most apraisers will give similar opinions about the value of the house.

Though an appraised value might be one thing, a lender reserves the right to "cut" that appraisal as they see fit. A lot of lenders have their own appraisal review department; these departments will look at comps themselves, look at the appraisal, and decide weather to honor that value.

A professional written opinion, about the value of a property, like a House, Condo, or other residential unit. Commonly required when a residential unit is sold, taxed, insured, or financed.

An appraisal is a great tool for finding out how to add value to your home once bought. Looking for features that comparable sales in your area have that you do not will show you which items can be added to your home to increase value.

The more similar the subject property is, in terms of size, age, design, quality, sitelines, condition, etc., to other nearby properties, the more accurate the appraised value will be. The more unique the property is, the less accurate the appraisal will be. Because of this, a unique property with no or few good comparable properties could be considered a higher risk by the lender. In some cases the lender will cut the value on the appraisal to mitigate this risk.

An appraisal should not be confused with a home inspection. Where an appraisal deals with the home's value a home inspection is performed for the functionality of the systems and structure. An appraiser will inspect the house only to the degree of viewing what is in the house i.e. does it have Central A/C or window units etc... The inspector will check the systems to insure they are working properly.