do you want to know some secrets about
appraisers
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hi i'm stephanie lankowski and i live
and work in destin florida we as
floridians are huge on real estate and a
real estate appraisal is kind of like
the gatekeeper for any real estate
transaction i recently read a really
great article in financial buzz it was
written by jenny cohen and she had a
very clever little title that caught my
attention as it was probably designed to
do it was titled 11 secrets home
appraisers don't want you to know so of
course i read on like the good real
estate agent that i am to figure out
those secrets while i may not call them
secrets i would definitely agree that
they are little-known facts so thank you
jenny i am going to rehash those 11
little-known facts for you guys in my
own words fact number one appraisers
work for lending institutions they do
not work for you as the home buyer so a
lending institution hires an appraiser
to come out and assess the value of the
home that you're looking to purchase in
order to turn around and tell
the investors looking to lend on your
loan whether it is a safe good
guaranteed return on investment so it's
always good to know who someone's
working for fact number two the square
footage is important not only the square
footage but actually the lot size that
you have and an appraiser is going to
take your size of your home you will
look at the bedrooms the bathrooms
whether you have office space those are
a factor but the actual counted number
of square footage in your acreage could
come into play when used against other
comps of sell price per square foot and
this could be a determining factor on
the value of your home so fact number
three is that where that home is located
does matter the surrounding areas what
is around you how is the crime rate is
it in the best school district is it in
the worst school district does it border
up against like retail space or you know
town homes is it next to a boat ramp
here in destin all of these factors
actually do have an impact on the value
of your home when coming through an
appraiser's eye fact number four
comps matter so going back to number
three the surrounding areas what's
around your house that's also going to
play into what houses have sold recently
it is usually within the last six months
to a year and within the same kind of
square footage and a mile of your house
how much did it sell for an appraiser is
going to use that way up there on their
list in determining the house value step
number five a home appraiser is not a
home inspector and i say that not just
for you guys but for me because i always
got it confused in my mind so a home
appraiser again is hired by the lending
institution to find the value of the
entire real estate package right the
acreage and the home now an inspector is
traditionally hired by a home purchaser
someone who's buying a home to go in and
inspect like mr gadget and find any
problems like i walked through the house
as a potential buyer and loved it loved
the chandelier loved the table loved the
walls the bathroom was fantastic but my
home inspector is gonna go crawl on the
roof gonna take a hammer to some things
he's gonna make sure turn on all the
faucets make sure everything works
properly before i sign on the dotted
line and turn over a big cash number six
renovations actually do add up so if a
appraiser is looking at the comp of a
very similar home same square footage
same rooms and even if he's not he has
the ability he she has the ability to
kind of like dollar sign it like here is
an upgraded bathroom they put in a new
countertop they put in new faucets they
put in new pools all those add up now
remember when you're doing a bigger
renovation it doesn't necessarily equal
you know you put fifty thousand dollars
in for a new kitchen it doesn't equal
exactly fifty thousand dollars more in
an appraisal but it is going to add
overall value so put some real time and
consideration in before dumping a lot of
money into renovating your house fact
number seven is that you can actually
ask for a second opinion or a completely
different appraisal company to do the
appraisal just have your realtor speak
with the lending institution the lender
on the deal you can hand pick cherry
pick who you want to be the appraiser
fact number eight unlike a home
inspector a home appraiser isn't going
to with open arms invite you to come to
the appraisal appointment your inspector
in fact is they want you there you're
welcome at that appointment they want to
point out you know the mold spot that's
going to have to be replaced they want
to you know point out the pool heater
that's resting out your appraiser does
not necessarily want to do that they
want to get in there and calculate their
numbers and get back home or to the next
job these guys are busting it they've
been overwhelmed and again they're
working for a lending institution not
the home purchaser fact number nine
water damage is always a red flag
caution caution when you're looking for
a home anytime i go in a home an
inspector and an appraiser when they go
in a home are going to be looking for
any visible signs of water damage
unfortunately with water when you see
something visible that generally means
that behind it is kind of a bigger mess
so this is just a caution caution if
there are visible signs of water damage
an appraiser is gonna note that and
that's gonna go into the number
calculations fact number 10 that while
the appraiser actually works for the
lending institution you as the purchaser
are going to pay their appraisal fee in
your closing costs so while they don't
work for you you still get to pay for
them and fact number 11 is that you can
appeal an appraisal so if you get to the
end of a deal and the appraised value is
not what you had hoped for or what you
needed there's an appeals process
appraisers are good great and
hardworking people so at the end of the
day just remember that kindness goes a
long way with anybody that you deal with
and especially when you want something
from someone so if you do get a chance
to appeal or you need to appeal that
appraisal just remember these guys have
been working hard all day any kindness
that you can throw them is going to help
their ears open a little more to what
exactly you need from them jen and i
post new videos every thursday i thank
you for watching and you can click the
link below for a free first-time
homebuyers guide
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you