Need a little help with a question?

How much do you charge for an appraisal?

90% of our appraisals for single family residences are $350.00.  We can offer volume, senior, & cash discounts.  More complex appraisals are higher and by quote.  Our fee schedule is here:  Appraisal Fee Schedule

What are your turnaround times?

Most non-complex, local appraisals are 2-4 working days.   We can do 24-48 hour rush appraisals.  More complex or distant appraisals will take longer.   We have MLS lockboxes for purchase transactions.  Want to help us go faster? Click here: Faster Appraisals

Do you do "comp searches"? 

We can provide some market information prior to inspections to help you determine the risk of various potential values.  We cannot tell you what it will appraise for prior to full completion of the appraisal.  More information is here Comp Searches

Can you send me a copy of the appraisal report?

For lending purposes the short answer is "no".  For non-lending purposes we, of course, will send you a copy as you are our client. 

For lending, our "client" is the lender and we can only give appraisal information to our client, then lender. 

"But I paid for the appraisal!"  Who pays for the appraisal does not change the appraiser-client relationship, so we can't just send you a copy, unfortunately.

"Ok, but I still want a copy"

There are 2 ways to receive a copy of a lender appraisal. 

1)  The lender must give you a copy of the appraisal if you make a request in writing.  In practice, you will usually be given a copy of the appraisal at your signing/closing.  More information is in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act here: Copy of Appraisal Scroll to the section  Section 202.5a--Rules on Providing Appraisal Reports.

2) You can also ask the lender (our client) to send us a written statement (fax or email) allowing us to email you a copy of the report. 

Burton & Company just did an appraisal for my lender.  I want to use a different lender.  Can you just put the appraisal in their name and send them a copy?

No, here is why. Appraisal Foundation AO-26  and here Appraisal Foundation AO-27

We may take the assignment and treat it as a new order, with a new client and a new report date.

Depending on the original inspection-effective date there may be a new inspection, new research and a new value conclusion.  We will provide a new report, usually with a substantially reduced fee.   The more recent the effective date of the prior report, the lower the fee and the quicker we can complete the report.  The fee is typically $75-$250.

The appraiser was only at my house for 30 minutes and charged me $350.... I'm in the wrong business.

The inspection is a small part of the overall appraisal process.  This is especially true for subdivision/tract homes.  Once we have completed appraisals in a particular area, our inspections are more efficient.  We look for differences from other houses in the area.  This takes less time than if we had never completed an assignment in a particular area. 

Typically smaller, newer one-story homes take the least time to inspect.  Larger, 2+ story homes with complex designs, take longer.  Also, homes with non-original additions, outbuildings, and that have significant depreciation take longer to inspect. 

Here are other parts of the appraisal process for a typical single family house:

Order taking & file preparation, researching subject property county records, researching subject property MLS data, researching appropriate comparable sales, exterior inspection of all comparable sales, creating a sketch/floorplan, selecting, analyzing and inputting comparable sales, adjusting comparable sales, confirming MLS data with tax records/Realtors, loading photographs of the subject & comparable sales, creating plat, flood, & location maps, correctly commenting on any unusual property characteristics or comparable sale adjustments, completion of cost & income approaches as applicable, reconciliation of comparable sales/approaches to value and completing quality control/review checklists. 

Important: Please let us know about any features or updates that want us to consider. A tour of your home or a list works great.  While we are trained to observe these, we will feel better knowing that you are assured that we did not miss anything.  More information here Faster Appraisals

I have other questions

Please contact us, we will be happy to respond.