Appraisal Articles 2019 Free Appraisal Articles for Appraisers and the Public
Top Categories
- General Appraisal — 180
- Property Appraisal — 105
- Real Estate — 98
- General Property — 87
- Narrative Writing — 21
- Litigation / Expert — 12
- Technology — 10
- Appraisal Software — 6
- Writing Appraisal Articles — 5
- Business Appraisal — 4
- Healthcare Facility — 4
- Estate and Probate Appraisals — 3
Articles Archive
Latest News
Note about "Views" reported on this site
Feb 7, 2014
I just want readers, contributors and potential contributors to realize that the...
This Site is Monitored
Dec 28, 2013
Articles that are not deemed contributory are removed from this site promptly, so we would...
New Site Template
Nov 30, 2013
Please pardon our somewhat painful transition, we have been working with Subrion.com...
Articles by August, 2015
Appraising Detroit 2015
by Garrett Steele on Aug 6, 2015 • Market Conditions Articles • 1858 Views
Detroit's economy has seen extreme highs and extreme lows over the past several years, and there are segments of the economy that are still struggling. Parts of the fragmented residential real estate market still have a lot of healing to do. Commercial real estate in Detroit has seen a significant strengthening and 2015 looks like it could provide more positive movement. Detroit offers its commercial appraisers a wide range of appraisal challenges. Downtown, the riverfront and the suburbs are particularly strong, but a near 20% vacancy rate persists in the office sector.
Feasibility Studies and Appraisers
by Garrett Steele on Aug 6, 2015 • Feasibility Studies • 1887 Views
It's a fact that real estate developers are a leading consumer of feasibility studies, but many developers are not searching for the best location for a new mini-storage building or considering the best site location for a new Walmart store. They often already own a site and they are usually just trying to get it developed for a use that appeals to them because the use is in their opinion the most profitable one. Often they have expended hard money to further their plan.
Avoiding an Appraisal
by Garrett Steele on Aug 7, 2015 • General Appraisal • 2024 Views
Most buyers and sellers of real estate just want to keep their expenses as low as possible. They will volunteer the fact that they don't want an appraisal, don't want to pay for an appraisal and don't see the need for an appraisal. When you are dealing with other people's money "OPM" however it's hard to get away from an appraisal being required. Banks are one of the biggest users of appraisal services, beyond the fact that they have federal requirement to appraise real property assets for federally backed mortgages, they simply don't want to find out that they just loaned money on a property and it's not worth what they loaned. So it's tough to avoid an appraisal when you are working with a bank. There are however exceptions. If you loan is only going to have a loan to value ratio of say 50% there is a good chance that the bank will just waive the appraisal.
Contingent Appraisal Fees
by Garrett Steele on Aug 8, 2015 • ROOT • 3250 Views
Many appraisers are asked by clients or potential clients to "work with me, you will get paid through escrow." The problem for appraisers is that it's often the case that if the appraisal doesn't "come in" in these circumstances there won't be an escrow to get paid from. It's one of those situations that appraiser's must approach with caution. If your fee won't be paid if a certain value is not reached clearly you can't accept the assignment. Even real estate developers with speculative projects have come to realize that most commercial appraisers will not invest their time and expertise and hope to get paid, they simply refuse to be put in that contingent fee situation.
Engagement Letters for Litigation
by Garrett Steele on Aug 9, 2015 • Litigation / Expert • 2758 Views
Litigation assignments are not the same as other appraisal assignments, and it's better to have your understanding with a client and / or the attorney spelled out in detail. Otherwise you may spend many more hours than you originally anticipated trying to get an assignment successfully completed. All of my engagement letters spell out; my business information, the clients name, property identification, the interest to be appraised, date of value, turnaround time and the appraisal fee. If there are multiple dates of value, extraordinary assumptions or hypothetical conditions those facts are also discussed.
Setting Fees for Appraisal Litigation
by Garrett Steele on Aug 9, 2015 • Litigation / Expert • 2918 Views
In Southeastern Michigan it has been my experience that appraiser's bid or set their assignment fees for their litigation appraisals in the same way that they do for most appraisal assignments that they complete, or on a flat fee basis. Appraisers tell me that they do however consider the fact that litigation appraisals take them more time and attention to detail than their typical appraisal. Thus flat appraisal fees for litigation related assignments are generally higher. Appraisers are usually asked to quote an hourly rate for additional research or to consider new issues related to the case. I offer a reasonable fee for this service. Complex issues can take several hours to resolve and write about, so you want to advise your client in writing what the estimated turnaround time will be. You don't want to put several hours in and then have your client say "I would never have agreed to that," litigation is difficult enough, you don't need to have the client turn against you. No
Appraised Value, Interest / Mortgage Rate and Loan-to-Value (LTV)
by Garrett Steele on Aug 11, 2015 • Mortgage / Financing • 744 Views
The purchase of a new or used property like a single-family home hinges on the appraisal completed for the mortgage lender. Even though there is a deal signed by bother buyer and seller. A buyer who signs a purchase agreement with a builder, for example, may negotiate a purchase price of $ 300,000 for a home, but if the mortgage lender’s appraiser concludes a market value of $ 280,000 the deal may be in jeopardy since the home asset may not support the loan.
Mortgage Rate Increases in 2015
by Bill Rigdon on Aug 12, 2015 • Mortgage / Financing • 672 Views
Yes it is likely that we will get an interest rate increase in 2015 possibly following the Federal Reserve Boards meeting in September of 2015 since the jobs number has been strong through August. Or they may delay the increase until December, but either way we are likely to see an increase in rates. The stock market has already reacted to the news. Mortgage rates now, or in the Summer of 2015, are low and average near 3.8% APR while interest rates on savings accounts is below 0.5% APR.
Appraisal Clients Who Don’t Pay
by Thomas Marlow on Aug 13, 2015 • Business Operation • 776 Views
I have recently had a number of “clients” ask for my help with their real estate transactions. They want me as an appraiser to do research in a market or submarket and if I can't convince them that they need for me to complete an appraisal report I will provide sales information if it is requested. They say they don't need me to express a value opinion and its often because they just don't want to pay for a report. If the party will pay, I will generally offer an unfiltered lists of sales and / or an unfiltered lists of rental properties of a certain type that I have collected and I tell them that they can use the lists to make their own decisions. I am clear that the data is meaningless without an expert interpretation, but again there is no interest. I don't filter the lists I provide for location, size, building quality, site size, construction or any other factor, so they get raw data. I will charge them for my time and tell the "good luck." I guess that they can claim that
Expert Witness Appraiser Depositions
by Administrator on Aug 13, 2015 • Litigation / Expert • 4190 Views
If you have been deposed more than a few times you know that the deposition can go easy or it can go hard depending on the attorney that you are dealing with and what they try to accomplish. Many attorneys just want you "on the record," they want to know what you will be like when they get you on the witness stand. Will you come across as a cool, collected expert witness that strengthens his opposition case or does he think you are weak in some way that he can capitalize on. For an appraiser, you are focused on defending your report and just answering with short yes and no answers, get through it with the least amount of pain.
Random Articles
Modern Web Design and Development Trends
Apr 26, 2012 • 2216 Views
Tips For Locating Real Estate Owned by Banks
May 9, 2012 • 2001 Views
Engagement Letters for Litigation
Aug 9, 2015 • 2758 Views
Expert Witness Appraiser Depositions
Aug 13, 2015 • 4190 Views
Popular Articles
Cell Tower Site Appraisals
11210 Views
Tax Deductions / Tips for Real Estate Appraisers
11164 Views
Advertisement
