Appraisal Inspection Interview

[The Bob]

I ALWAYS pull comps befor I go out to do the inspection. Predetermined value? Give me a break.

 

[Larry Lyke]

I always pull comps based on the best information I can gather on the property and within its appropriate neighborhood and take photos of the ones I choose to grid out. Then choose from that assemblage of information as to what constitutes a good , sound appraisal...

At the lender's price, of course. LOL.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

I almost always pull comps before I go out to inspect. Why go twice? Even with high end properties I can reduce the number to look at to a dozen or so, worst case. Then sort out which are best after.

Tax records and sometimes MLS gives some info, usually. I always look to see what I have before I call. Whether it has good info or not, I always ask when setting the appt if the house is x,zzz SF, do you have a view, any room additions, remodeling? That way by the time i go out there, I hopefully have a decent idea what I'm going to see.

IMO, asking them to describe it in detail is asking for a long boring story, or a blank silence, in some cases at least. If it works for you, more power, but I have'nt had much luck, although homeowners may vary.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Oh, and when they want to give you directions :?: :lol:

Well, a couple times directions have been invaluable 8O , but usually not needed at all. :lol:

I mean, I can read a map :!: :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Most of you who pull comps before you go must be appraising alot of cookie cutter type housing. In my area, there just arent many of those areas. On one mountain you can have a literal shack to a $1M+ home.

You question predetermined value? You have your mind made up what range that home will fall into before you leave your office. I wuldmuch rather make 2 trips and know I have the absolute best comaprables available. I have probably, 3/4 of the photos for all of the sales in a 4 county area in my database anyway.

What I will do, is if I am going into a subdivision or an area far from my office is print out the addresses of all the sales in that area in the past 6 months. I then check to see if I need any of those photos for my database. If so, I shot them while I am there, but I havent even looked at the comp data. I just want the photo for my database.

 

[airphoto]

Bill-NC,

The very text of what you write suggests pre-determined values .. nothing thereupon has been written by anyone else!

My typical search is +/- 20% of the square footage in similarly styled houses, sold within one year .. Ranches, Bungalows and 1-story are similarly styled houses. Depending on distance, I may find 1-10 of those within five miles. Nothing about the search suggests a value, unless I limit it to "under $100,000 for an assessed value of $50-70,000 (for example) to reduce the number of hits. I don't often have to reduce the number of hits .. typically must expand the search area to pick up more hits.

In fact, distrusting the assessment figures as I do .. should I use any assessed value for searching, will typically take +/- 25% of the (adjusted for equalization) assessed value as an additional search parameter, should I (on very limited occasions) have to reduce the number of hits ..

 

[Charlotte Dixon]

I learned many, many years ago to get all the info I can when I call for the appointment. This avoids arriving at the subject property (which is just a white cape COD with blue shutters) and also finding a horse barn plus a carriage house which has been converted to an apartment for Auntie Em. There's nothing like a shock like that to remind me to ask question #1 stated here....and then question #2 which is an absolute necessity to know before getting in the car. Then I pull the public records to check for zoning, etc.
1) Do you have any outbuildings, barns, or other buildings on the property?
2) Was your home moved to that lot....Is it a modular home, or manufactured home, or is it a custom built home?

Knowing the answers to the above, plus whatever else the homeower offers is a great help. Of course, the location of the subject property dictates your questions.

 

[Joker]

Bill in NC
I too work in a rural area and in Appalachia, you can have a 2000 square foot owner built shack within 1 mile of an excellent quality 2000 square foot high value dwelling. I do it the way you do. I take my sales data (where available) with me to the property and AFTER inspecting the home, select the comparables. I always take photos of the sales in the neighborhoods farther away (comparable or not), you might not need them for that appraisal but never know when you might need to use them. It's better than driving back later and as a bonus, you end up with a very complete database. I have this luxury because there are such limited sales in the area.