Are House Appraisal Values Reliable or Inaccurate?

Getting a home appraised is considered a safeguard for both the buyer and the mortgage lender. Buyers know they are not overpaying for their house based on comparable sale prices and mortgage lenders know the value of the home is not overestimated.

But what happens when appraisal values are inaccurate?

The downturned real estate market has caused appraisal fees to drop, so very often appraisers will travel great distances to do appraisals. But if an appraiser travels 50+ miles to determine the value of a home, does that appraiser really know the local market well enough to make the appraisal accurate?

Inaccurate appraisals can cause delays in refinancing or selling the home. There are also market nuances that out of town appraisers may not be aware of, thus tainting their appraisal.

Want to make sure your appraiser does an accurate market analysis? Check out our free Market Sales Analysis form.

For more information about this story, click here.

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About reibrain

Hey, my name is Trevor and I'm the founder of The REI Brain and editor/contributor. I started investing in real es.tate when I was 21... and love entrepreneurship, the internet, and real estate. My main focus today is growing my companies, systemizing my businesses so I can work less and make more, and spend more time with my family. Learn more about me at trevormauch.com.

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4 Responses to “Are House Appraisal Values Reliable or Inaccurate?”

  1. Ben Cottier December 19, 2009 at 10:01 pm #

    My opinion is the current foreclosure crisis will not be resolved until prices reach levels that people can afford. I think we are seeing this correction happen now, not the inaccuracies of appraisers.

  2. Mitchell Sawaya October 24, 2010 at 7:50 am #

    In regards to this topic, it is often hard to locate savvy recommendations on the Web. Thanks for sharing your ideas on travel tips and related topics. By the way, do you have any honest recommendations on where I can locate more useful suggestions on the Internet? Keep up the good work!

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