How to Find the Best Real Estate Appraisers

Want to know how to find the best real estate appraisers? Let's begin with what they are. A professional state-licensed or certified personnel is sent to appraise the market value of the real estate property. In case, someone has applied for a mortgage, then the banks or lenders of the mortgage will contact an Appraisal Management Company and they will hire an appraiser to the property evaluated. Their appraisal report will decide the lending amount for the property. In case you are out to find an appraiser on your own, without having to avail the services of an AMC, then you need to assess the following things to have better financial consequences. 

Know your Needs

First, you need to ascertain your needs. You want to make sure what type of property you want an appraisal for and its value. There are three options to choose from. You could either go for a licensed appraiser who will appraise one-to-four-unit real estate properties which have a value of up to $1 million or you could go for a certified residential appraiser who can appraise the same real estate properties regardless of where they stand in value. Now if you have a varied requirement, in that you want both the commercial and residential properties to be appraised then you should go for a certified general appraiser. 

Take their Appraisal History

Second step is to dive into the appraisal history of the potential appraisers. You can ask the potential appraisers as regards their work experience because that will give you an insight into the effectiveness of their work. You should ask about their local experience as that will be a more effective parameter for your appraisal as it will allow you to compare your property with the other around the same area. You can compare for size, condition, design, neighborhood and functional utility. 

Examine their designation

There are also many designations out there that complement with the licensing of the appraiser. These designations are inclusive of Residential Member, Senior Residential Appraiser, Senior Real Estate Analyst, Senior Real Property Appraiser and Member Appraisal Institute. These designations indicate that the appraisers are abreast with the recent regulations, ethics, and education and so are able to perform proper property valuations. There are other designations out there as well so ask the potential appraiser as regards their designation and do a web search on your own to gauge its credibility. 

Work Status of the Appraiser 

Fourth step is to examine the status of the appraiser. You can check that through regulatory agency of the appraiser. This state agency will provide you with the information as regards the license and certification of the searched for appraiser. The agency will also provide you with the data on whether there were any disciplinary actions taken against a specific appraiser; it will also detail out the information for any suspension, fines or license revocation if there was any. 

Look for References

Fifth step is to ask around for references. You will have a list of options to ascertain the credibility of the appraisers, you can ask the real estate agent, lender, accountant or attorney about their past experiences with their appraisers and will they refer any to you. There is also plenty of data on the internet in the form of customer experiences, appraiser’s credentials and complaints history. 

Take Interview

Sixth step is to prepare interview questions and conduct the interview. You should ask questions regarding preliminary report, their qualifications, their specialties and whether they have a plan for handling matters that lie outside their specialty. 

Payment 

The last step is to mark the fees you will be paying them. You should be prepared to pay more because you really would benefit from getting the accurate appraisal and that will be had through a highly qualified appraiser. You should also know that there are different fee structures for different types of properties, their sizes, and the market. 

So when trying to find the best real estate appraiser, you know now plenty of questions to ask them.