- What is an appraisal?
- What kinds of property get appraised?
- Do I need an appraisal?
- How is "market value" determined?
- How much does an appraisal cost?
- Are appraisers licensed?
- Who does the appraiser work for?
- What is USPAP?
- Recent Mortage Rates Feed? (RSS Feed of recent rates)
What is an appraisal?
- An appraisal is a written opinion of the market value of a property,
such as a home, factory, building, land, hotel, or other similar items, as of a specific date. Prepared
by a qualified appraiser, it represents an independent and impartial
analysis of all the relevant data. Because market value is not apparent
just by inspection, an appraisal is usually required when a property is
sold, taxed, insured, financed, or inherited.
What kinds of property get appraised?
- Almost anything that can be owned by a person or company can be appraised.
Property can be categorized according to the main appraisal disciplines: business valuation,
gems and jewelry, machinery and technical, personal property and real property.
- Machinery and technical includes such specialties as agricultural, computers and
high-tech, cost surveys, machinery and equipment, mines and quarries, public utilities
and railroads. Personal property includes artwork, antique furniture, audio-visual
media recordings, books, fine arts photography and oriental rugs, to name some.
Real property includes residential, rural and urban as well as others.
- Appraisers are normally trained and accredited in several specialties
(for example: real property residential and urban).
Do I need an appraisal?
- You do if you're buying or selling, insuring or
making a claim, financing, grieving property taxes, probating a will, settling a lawsuit
or divorce, involved in bankruptcy, dissolution or other litigation. In other words, if
you need an estimate you can rely on.
How is "market value" determined?
- There are three common approaches, all derived from the market.
The Cost Approach is what it would cost to replace or reproduce the property.
The Comparison Approach compares the property to similar ones that have sold recently.
The Income Approach looks at what a prudent investor would pay for the property based
on the net income it produces. Not all approaches are used for a given property, not all
are given equal weight, and other, more sophisticated approaches may also be used, as in
appraising intellectual property.
How much does an appraisal cost?
- There is no fixed price. However, an ethical appraiser never works "on commission" and never prices work according to the value of
the property. Call MEI Appraisal for your estimate.
Are appraisers licensed?
- Since the Savings and Loan debacle of the 1980's, many states,
including New York and New Jersey, have licensed real estate appraisers.
However, other appraisers are generally not licensed. This makes it very
important for consumers to seek out appraisers certified by a recognized
professional organization such as The American Society of Appraisers (ASA),
which sets rigorous standards of experience, education, methodology and ethical conduct.
Who does the appraiser work for?
- If you mean "Who can influence the outcome?" the answer is no one.
Professional ethics (USPAP) demand the same outcome - an unbiased,
independent and accurate appraisal - no matter who orders or pays for it.
If you mean "Who does the appraiser report to?" the answer is the party who
ordered the report, regardless of who pays for it. Moreover, the appraiser
will not discuss the appraisal with anyone other than the person who ordered it,
unless otherwise instructed.
What is USPAP?
- USPAP is the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice,
the code of ethics written by the Appraisal Foundation, which Congress
authorized as the source of appraisal standards and appraiser qualifications.
By relying on USPAP, an appraiser can produce appraisals - analyses, opinions
and advice - that are meaningful to you and not misleading in the marketplace.
The current USPAP is available online. ASA accreditation requires knowledge
of and adherence to USPAP.
What are the recent mortgage rates?
- MEI as a customer convienience, has an RSS feed of the recent mortgage rates.
In addition, a simple mortgage payment calculator is provided.
Simply click on this link (Mortgage News and Calculator).
