Real Estate Appraisals: A Primer

Purchasing real estate is the most significant financial decision most people may ever encounter. Whether it's where you raise your family, a second vacation home or one of many rentals, the purchase of real property is an involved transaction that requires multiple people working in concert to pull it all off.


	To learn more about appraising, click here to see a short video or call us today to talk about your specific property.

It's likely you are familiar with the parties taking part in the transaction. The most known face in the exchange is the real estate agent. Next, the mortgage company provides the financial capital needed to finance the deal. The title company ensures that all aspects of the sale are completed and that the title is clear to transfer from the seller to the buyer.

So what party is responsible for making sure the value of the real estate is consistent with the amount being paid? In comes the appraiser. We provide an unbiased opinion of what a buyer might expect to pay - or a seller receive - for a property, where both buyer and seller are informed parties. A professional Mississippi licensed appraiser from Perry Appraisal Service will ensure you as an interested party are informed.

Appraisals begin with the home inspection

Our first task at Perry Appraisal Service is to inspect the property to determine its true status. We must actually see aspects of the property, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the location, and so on, to ensure they indeed are there and are in the shape a reasonable buyer would expect them to be. To make sure the stated size of the property has not been misrepresented and convey the layout of the house, the inspection often entails creating a sketch of the floor plan. Most importantly, the appraiser identifies any obvious amenities - or defects - that would affect the value of the property.

Back at the office, an appraiser employs two or three approaches when determining the value of real property: paired sales analysis and, in the case of a rental property, an income approach.

Replacement Cost

Here, we use information on local building costs, the cost of labor and other elements to calculate how much it would cost to construct a property nearly identical to the one being appraised. This estimate commonly sets the upper limit on what a property would sell for. It's also the least used method.

Sales Comparison

Appraisers are intimately familiar with the neighborhoods in which they work. We innately understand the value of specific features to the people of that area. Then, the appraiser researches recent sales in the vicinity and finds properties which are 'comparable' to the home being appraised. By assigning a dollar value to certain items such as upgraded appliances, additional bathrooms, an additional living area, quality of construction, lot size, we add or subtract from each comparable's sales price so that they more accurately portray the features of subject.

For example, if the comparable property has a storm shelter and the subject doesn't, the appraiser may deduct the value of a storm shelter from the sales price of the comparable home.
If the subject has an extra half-bathroom and the comparable does not, the appraiser might add an amount to the comparable property.

When it comes to associating a value with features of homes in Hattiesburg and Lamar, Perry Appraisal Service can't be beat. This approach to value is commonly awarded the most consideration when an appraisal is for a real estate sale.

Valuation Using the Income Approach

A third way of valuing a house is sometimes applied when an area has a measurable number of renter occupied properties. In this case, the amount of revenue the real estate generates is factored in with income produced by neighboring properties to derive the current value.

Coming Up With the Final Value

Combining information from all applicable approaches, the appraiser is then ready to state an estimated market value for the property in question. Note: While the appraised value is probably the strongest indication of what a house would sell for in an open market, it may not be the price at which the property closes. Prices can always be driven up or down by extenuating circumstances like the motivation or urgency of a seller or 'bidding wars'. But the appraised value is typically employed as a guideline for lenders who don't want to loan a buyer more money than the property would likely sell for in an open marketplace. At the end of the day: An appraiser from Perry Appraisal Service will help you get the most accurate property value, so you can make wise real estate decisions.