appraisal

The Tax Assessor-Should You Let Them In Your Home

October 4, 2011 Appraisal
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Minnesota has what is known as an ad valorem property tax, which means property taxes are divided among taxable properties according to their value. Assessors gather data from Oct 1st,  2010 through September 30th, 2011 (known as the sales study period) to calculate the “market value” for January 2nd, 2012. Homeowners have between April 1st, 2012 and […]

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Create Credible Appraisals or Else!

September 10, 2011 Appraisal
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I recently had a conversation with a very seasoned loan broker who told me, “…appraisers don’t have much to worry about when it comes to appraising, because it’s just your opinion”, meaning how can anyone really challenge an opinion of value. In one respect he’s correct, it’s not the opinion of value that is challenged, […]

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Low Appraisals

September 9, 2011 Appraisal
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It’s always frustrating, if not maddening, when the appraisal comes in low on a sale of a home. Buying a home is very emotional for both buyers and sellers, and the last thing anyone wants is some appraiser telling the parties involved that the home isn’t worth what they agreed upon. Personally, I don’t know […]

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Appraisal Changes-UAD

September 1, 2011 Appraisal
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Big change start today, known as UAD, in reporting appraisals for the GSE’s (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac); the biggest takeaway so far is that homeowners should have a detailed list with the dates of their completed updates. Appraisers are being required to put quality ratings (Q1-Q6), as well as condition ratings (C1-C6), which are supposed […]

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Can I Get a Copy of My Appraisal?

August 28, 2011 Appraisal
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I still have borrowers calling me requesting a copy of their appraisal, and when I tell them that they have to get it from the lender they often get quite upset because they’ve tried that. You would think that with all of the new rules and regulations borrowers still wouldn’t be getting the runaround on this. […]

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