I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?

"Kathy" wrote in message
...
I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?

you're going to be lucky if the guy gets out of the car. he may slow down
going past.

I've refinaced my home several times. I found the best approach is to
stay out of their way, and in a roundabout not overly obvious way, let
them know what you need the house to appraise at (wink wink).

Also, if the loan company picked the appraiser, and/or your credit is
good, I don't think you have anything to worry about. The refinance
craze is dying down (at least I don't get 5 calls a day and 20 letters
a day with refinance offers anymore), but loan companies still want
your business if they think you are a good risk.

"Kathy" wrote in message
...
I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?

Wave as he/she drives by. If you have plentyof equity, it is just to be
sure the building exists. Some take a picture and move on and never even
ring the doorbell. .

Have you done anything to the home since the last appraisal? Or some
improvements within the last 2 years of any significance? They will
take homes somewhat within your area that have sold recently and use
the sale price to base your value on. They will reduce the value based
any differences in the property, like sq footage or bathrooms. Like if
your property has one less bathroom than a comp, they will take away $X
from your value. Telling them what you want the property to appraise
for may not help at all and may irritate them, they have heard it all
before. You can suggest comps but this may make them think you are
saying you can do their job better. I found that once you get the
appraisal, check the comps and if they suck, ask your lender to draft a
letter telling them to get better comps. They want the lender happy
because he/she is the main source of their referrals.

I've noticed a large number of photos in appraisals have a cars side
view mirrors caught in the photo. I'll let you figure that one out for
yourself.

Got an appraiser showing up on a bank holiday? Wow, they must be a new
office.

Kathy wrote:

I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?

Clean.

It won't change the appraisal value, but it will keep you from
doing more expensive things that also won't change the appraisal
value.

--Goedjn

"Kathy" wrote in message
...
I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?


The last time my home was appraised I don't think the appraiser even left
the office. I was sent a copy of the appraisal. It had three homes in my
area that were of simular size and age, and what they sold for. Not a bit of
information of my home other than the value.
Greg

On 1/13/2005 7:26 PM US(ET), Greg O took fingers to keys, and typed the
following:

"Kathy" wrote in message
...


I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?




The last time my home was appraised I don't think the appraiser even left
the office. I was sent a copy of the appraisal. It had three homes in my
area that were of simular size and age, and what they sold for. Not a bit of
information of my home other than the value.
Greg


The appraiser for the re-mortgage on my house, made an appointment, then
came to my house at the appointed time, came in, and walked through the
entire house making notes, drawings, and measuring with a 25' and 100'
tape ( I helped by holding the dumb end on long measurements). She then
walked around the outside of the house and took pictures of the house
from different angles.

--
Bill

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 15:09:26 -0500, "Kathy"
scribbled this interesting note:

I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?


We've had several houses appraised. We're fortunate that the mortgage
broker we use has a couple of very good appraisers that work with him.
When little more than a drive by appraisal is needed these fellows
charge less. When a full appraisal is needed, they take the time to
measure the exterior, note the interior rooms in their drawing, look
at the condition of the house (carpet, paint, kitchen accessories,
overall appearance, etc.), take a few pictures and then they go back
to their office, get comparables, work their magic, and the number I
wanted is usually very close to the perfectly justifiable number they
come up with. But then again I pay close attention to property values
in our area.


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

"willshak" wrote
The appraiser for the re-mortgage on my house, made an appointment, then
came to my house at the appointed time, came in, and walked through the
entire house making notes, drawings, and measuring with a 25' and 100'
tape ( I helped by holding the dumb end on long measurements). She then
walked around the outside of the house and took pictures of the house from
different angles.


yeah, me too. the mortgage co. gave us a copy of the report and there was
even a little *floor plan* at the bottom - not just the field sketch, but
drafted with a straight edge... they must've just gotten a new intern or
something!

i've had 2 previous appraisals of the drive-by variety.


--
forrest_m
forrest underscore m at hotmail

"Kathy" wrote
I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?


As many already mentioned, it will probably be a drive by appraisal. A
friend of mine works for an appraiser, she does approx. 4 drive by
appraisals a day. You may or may not know, appraisals are done with
comparables, or some word like that. They use comparable homes within a 5
mile radius for recent sales, which reflect the appraisal price of your
home. Crazy way they do it, because in a 5 mile radius of my home, there
are run down homes and nice homes.

Chances are, you won't even know they came by, unless you're having an
extensive appraisal which is when they do an actual walk through. If you
paid in the $150-$200 range for the appraisal, in my area this is a drive
by.

"Uncle" wrote in message
...

"Kathy" wrote
I'm looking at refinancing my home before the rates go up again. The
appraiser is coming next Monday morning. Does anyone have any tips?


As many already mentioned, it will probably be a drive by appraisal. A
friend of mine works for an appraiser, she does approx. 4 drive by
appraisals a day. You may or may not know, appraisals are done with
comparables, or some word like that. They use comparable homes within a 5
mile radius for recent sales, which reflect the appraisal price of your
home. Crazy way they do it, because in a 5 mile radius of my home, there
are run down homes and nice homes.

Chances are, you won't even know they came by, unless you're having an
extensive appraisal which is when they do an actual walk through. If you
paid in the $150-$200 range for the appraisal, in my area this is a drive
by.


Well, the mortgage company picked the appraiser and told me she definitly is
coming in. She also told me not to worry just because of the address. The
lender is paying for the appraisal up front but she said I have to pay it at
closing and it is $300.
I am going to spend the weekend putting up trim that is laying on the floor
behind the couch and cleaning. From all of your replys I'm thinking it could
help if I put a fresh coat of paint on the kitchen.

Thanks for the info.

behind the couch and cleaning. From all of your replys I'm thinking it could
help if I put a fresh coat of paint on the kitchen.


It MIGHT help with the eventual sale-price, if you pick a color that
the eventual buyer likes, and if they don't conclude that you painted
to hide something. but it won't affect the appraisal at all.

An appraisel simply determines what your home is likely to sell for, based on
other homes in your general vicinity and what they sold for.

What color your bedroom or kitchen is is irrelevant.

It's about sq. ft, overall condition, amount of land, # of bedrooms /
bathrooms.

Your 2-car garage vs the rest of the neighborhood which only has one car
garages won't be considered.

Your brand new boiler vs the rest of the neighborhood which only has 30 year
old boilers is irrelevant.

On 15 Jan 2005 14:09:28 GMT, unkbloc (HaHaHa)
scribbled this interesting note:

An appraisel simply determines what your home is likely to sell for, based on
other homes in your general vicinity and what they sold for.

What color your bedroom or kitchen is is irrelevant.

It's about sq. ft, overall condition, amount of land, # of bedrooms /
bathrooms.

Your 2-car garage vs the rest of the neighborhood which only has one car
garages won't be considered.

Yes, it is considered. These kinds of things are factored into the
equations based on pre-set numbers.

Your brand new boiler vs the rest of the neighborhood which only has 30 year
old boilers is irrelevant.





--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)