Common myths about appraisals

"The appraiser works for whoever pays."

USPAP requires independence, impartiality, and objectivity, and the obligation does not shift with the invoice. An appraiser who delivers the number a client wanted is not doing the job, and a contingent fee tied to the outcome is prohibited outright.

"My tax value is what my property is worth."

An assessment is a mass estimate produced by a computer model across a whole county on a multi-year cycle, without inspecting your property. It can be years stale and badly off in either direction.

"The appraiser will check the house for problems."

That is a home inspection, and it is a different job. An appraiser notes condition as it affects value. Nobody is crawling the attic on your behalf. Hire both when it matters.

"Bigger is always worth more."

More square footage usually adds value, but not at a flat rate per foot, and not without limit. Beyond what the market in that area actually pays for, the extra space returns very little. Same for finished basements, garage bays, and outbuildings.

"What I spent on the remodel is what it added."

Cost and value are not the same thing. Some improvements return most of their cost, some return a fraction, and a few return nothing because the market did not want them. A pool in the wrong neighborhood is a common example.

"The appraisal killed my deal."

The appraisal reported what the market evidence supported. If a fact about the property was wrong, or a better comparable was available and skipped, that is worth raising with support. Disagreeing with the number is not the same as finding an error in the work.

"An online estimate is basically the same."

An automated model cannot see condition, cannot correct bad public records, and cannot explain itself. When somebody has to be persuaded, the reasoning is the product.

"Any appraiser can do any property."

USPAP requires competency in both the property type and the market. Land, special-purpose buildings, partial interests, and takings are specialties. An appraiser who is not competent should say so and decline.

Ask a real question

Call 984-360-8050 or email claude@globalappraisal.net.