Once a possible home buyer hears the word home appraisal, he or she might think that tricks are being employed in the mathematical calculations that are later to be presented onto him or her. Such notion or disbelief could sometimes be traced from the lack of proper knowledge regarding the process, or from any form of biases that the buyer might have heard from someone else.
Now in order to somehow shed some light on the so-called biases against home appraisal, one should first learn what home appraisal is. In general, the term home appraisal refers to the expert opinion regarding how much a property or house is worth. For a consumer, he or she should be keen to realize that the keyword would be 'expert opinion', which would likely be in contrast with an amateur or ordinary opinion, second to a guess.
You might be thinking now on how such expert opinion came to be. Well for a start, the process and figures came to be out of rigorous training of certain methodology. Pennymacusa highlighted the process which typically involves, Real Estate Inspection, Comparables, and the Final Report of Value. Each of the said processes has its own principles and strict guidelines to follow. And with the aid of the said guidelines, home appraisals are being calculated systematically, and not out of magic as you would have first thought of it.
Now those are some basic concepts of home appraisal that you should remember, especially if you would soon come in terms with the seller of the property. If price has been agreed upon both parties and documents are being processed for closing process, according to pennymacusa, it is by then that home appraisal would come into the equation.
And for the question of who's going to pay for the home appraisal, pennymacusa detailed that "while he bank will typically arrange for an appraisal, the buyer is ultimately responsible for footing the bill. Generally, appraisals cost between $300-$500, depending on the size of your home and property. It's also important to note that this fee will be collected regardless of whether or not you choose to purchase the home."
In order to avoid any unnecessary problems, it would be good that from the very start of the transaction, you should have already made contact with a real estate consultant to guide you in the process. Their help would not only lead you away from failures, but it would primarily save your from any forms of regret regarding home appraisal deal and real estate transaction in its totality.