Appraisal is a valuation conducted by a certified professional to assess the value of property, especially real estate.
Appraisals are an important service in the real estate industry in particular. Where mortgage loans are being taken out from banks, including original mortgages, refinancing, home equity loans and lines of credit, as well as in business and estate valuations, the property appraisal will play an important role.
Appraisals will determine the fair market value of a property based on the location, size, and condition of the property. Appraisers will generally be brought in before a real estate closing, but this can potentially kill a deal if the price has already been negotiated and it turns out the appraised value is much lower.
Buyers can generally back out or renegotiate the price if they haven’t made a firm commitment yet. This can be important since they will likely only be able to get a loan for around the appraised value amount.
Appraisers will go through a house before a real estate closing about the same time that a home inspector does. The appraiser is just trying to determine the value of the home, while the inspector is looking for engineering flaws, roof damage, and safety issues.