How to find a good home appraiser?
When you are hiring an appraiser, carefully screen potential appraisers by asking questions and checking credentials.
- Look for someone with experience appraising your property type.
- Request recommendations from real estate agents.
- Ask questions based on your appraisal needs.
- Talk to several different appraisers.
Can a buyer ask for an appraisal?
Lenders normally require an appraisal before they finalize the loan to the borrower after an offer has already been accepted, so getting an appraisal before an offer is not the typical approach; however, getting an appraisal on a home before making an offer on it can put you in a better negotiating position, because …
Can a home appraiser discriminate based on race?
Home appraisers are bound by the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to not discriminate based on race, religion, national origin or gender. Appraisers can lose their license or even face prison time if they’re found to produce discriminatory appraisals.
How are black homeowners affected by appraisals?
Black homeowners say it happens anyway. A second appraisal valued Abena and Alex Horton’s Jacksonville home 40 percent higher than the first appraisal, after Ms. Horton removed all signs of Blackness. Credit…
What to do when your home appraiser is white?
But before the new appraiser could arrive, Ms. Horton, a lawyer, began an experiment: She took all family photos off the mantle. Instead, she hung up a series of oil paintings of Mr. Horton, who is white, and his grandparents that had been in storage.
How did the appraiser change the value of my house?
On the day of the appraisal, Ms. Horton took the couple’s 6-year-old son on a shopping trip to Target, and left Mr. Horton alone at home to answer the door. The new appraiser gave their home a value of $465,000 — a more than 40 percent increase from the first appraisal.
