House Appraisal: Know What's in the Report and Why

You may wonder why a formal appraisal of property is important, especially if you’re thinking about the cabinet space in the kitchen, the huge master bedroom with en suite bathroom, or the comfortable den with a fireplace. If you’re selling your home, you may believe that you’ll get thousands more than it’s really worth. If you’re buying a home, you may avoid a specific property because you believe that it is out of your price range.

But there is a way to get an accurate number that will work for the buyer, the seller, and for the bank or lender that offers a mortgage. Fortunately, there are specialists who provide official appraisals for the real estate industry and the financial industry. It’s an essential part of the process, without which there would be a lot more confusion in the buying and selling process.

Educated Guess

It’s tempting to call an appraisal an educated guess about the value of property. But the truth is that this is a detailed process that takes into account a variety of factors. When the appraisal process is thorough and is conducted by an experienced individual, the figures used by banks, sellers, and buyers will be very accurate. No respected financial institution will offer a mortgage without a formal appraisal.

When you need a real estate appraisal in Toronto, you have access to experienced professionals who can arrive at accurate values quickly and efficiently. Lenders and borrowers depend on getting this important information as quickly as possible so that the transaction can move forward without stress or wasted time. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology used by the leading appraisal providers, you can track the progress of your order. You’ll see such details as messages between involved parties, appointments scheduled, property inspection dates, and more.

Your Responsibility

While you as the lender, buyer, or seller don’t have to do a lot of work during the appraisal process, there are some steps that you can take to be involved in house appraisals in Toronto. If your report shows a number that you believe is too low, you can certainly take steps to find out why the number is set where it is. The reason might be quite simple, something the homeowner can correct to help raise the number. If the appraisal seems very high in your opinion, you should also find out why. It’s possible that the seller will lower the price.

It’s also important to understand who is paying for the appraisal, which can cost about $300 to $400. If you’re the seller, is there anything that you can do to make up for what you consider a "bad" appraisal? Get all the details that you can about how the number was arrived at. If it means that you must make repairs or take care of some maintenance to increase the value, you should know those details.

The author is an expert in performing house appraisals in Toronto. He also specializes in writing and publishing articles based on the trends of real estate appraisal in Toronto.

Based in Vancouver, BC, Aedis Appraisals provides its clients with accurate and top quality home appraisal services, commercial appraisal, depreciation reports and consulting services.