When hiring an appraiser, what should be asked?

[Thomas Fiehler]

DT-Mountain Man makes a good point. Talk with the local banks (smaller ones), credit unions, Realtors, attorneys, etc and find out who they use. If you know some of these personally, ask who would they use. Just curious-what part of Ohio are you located in? Someone might be able to offer soem referrals. Good luck. Feel free to PM me if you like.

 

[dtownjbrown]

...........15. what is your reporting format and typical fee for this type of assignment? can you supply me with a Sample, Engagement letter?

Wow, thanks for all the great questions. Ive added all of them to my list

....be sure to use someone local to your market area.

Do you mean someone whose office (or past experience) is located in the neighborhood in which I live?

I think you can find out in the recorder's office, doubt the auditor will tell you.

Is there a certain type of document I should look for when I go down to the recorder's office.....or should I just go up to the receptionist and ask for a name of an appraiser?

One thing I've told many people who have called me over the years is ask your local banker....

Who in the bank should I ask, specifically? Can I ask any of the representatives that have those little offices off to the side (where people go to fill out all their new account information)?

You might be better served to locate a real estate tax consultant. A tax consultant can take the assignment on contingency basis and you will then only have to pay a fee if they are successful with the appeal. This type of service is typically based on the amount of savings in real estate taxes and is an advocate on your behalf.

You know, thats what I thought too but the person in the County Recorder's Office made it clear that an appraiser (not a tax consultant) was on their "acceptable" list.

Just curious-what part of Ohio are you located in? Someone might be able to offer soem referrals.

Ohhhhh, I would L-O-V-E some referrals. My home is located in central Cincinnati, REALLY close to downtown (less than a 15minute drive). My neighborhood is College Hill, to be exact. You know what, let me clarify...that's plain ole College Hill not North College Hill.

Apparently, by leaving out this little detail, I caused some confusion with two of the appraisers Ive spoken to already. It seems that North College Hill is a separate city or municipality or something. They have a separate, and Im told better school district so the home values there are much much different.....even though its only a stone's toss away from my neighborhood (i.e. between 1 and 2miles away).

 

[TEL2002]

Couple of things to consider.

1. You are planning to appeal your taxes, but upon what basis? (County has property data wrong? County has valued your home too high? County says you have something you do not? The county says all of your neighbors have lower values than you have? Etc., etc.) Depending upon your reason you might be able to appeal your own case. For example, the county says you have 2000 square feet when you only have 1600 (just invite them back out to measure your property all over again). Remember if you invite them on your property they are probably going to see everything...including that finished basement that they currently do not know about. I recently helped a friend with an appeal about square footage. For years the county said it was 3100 sqft, then a few months ago they claimed it was 3600. I measured it and drew up a sketch and it was 3180. My drawing was given to the county, they then said is was only 2900. Go figure.

2. You spend $550 for the appraiser, the report, and their time before the tax folks. The county lowers your value and as a result you save $100 per year on your taxes. Is it worth spending the $550??????????

3. You probably will want the appraiser to do a non-lender form (general purpose form or a narrative report).

 

[Thomas Fiehler]

DT-You are correct in that CH is NOT NCH! Feel free to call me and discuss this. My office is 513-899-9582 and cell is 518-6469. ALso, my email is: fiehler @ roadrunner dot com (remove spaces)

 

[Michigander]

One thing I would also ask is what percentage of the appraisers work is tax appeal or other private driven work.

Asking attorneys for referrals is one of the best methods of getting a competent appraiser, and asking the differences between CH and NCH would be too.

Whoever said an engagement letter was also spot on. Make sure you have one and understand exactly what you are getting.

Best, Serena

 

[Mountain Man]

Who in the bank should I ask, specifically? Can I ask any of the representatives that have those little offices off to the side (where people go to fill out all their new account information)?

Well, I bank with those who gives me most of my business, small local banks, and know the decision makers personally. With small local banks, it's usually the VP or Pres who makes the call on most loans and whether they go to loan committee or not. For larger banks, ask for the compliance officer or loan officer for non-conforming loans. Most loan officers as larger banks who do conventional Fannie/Freddie loans are commissioned sales people, so I take their advise with a grain of salt.

 

[wickedness1]

You might be better served to locate a real estate tax consultant. A tax consultant can take the assignment on contingency basis and you will then only have to pay a fee if they are successful with the appeal. This type of service is typically based on the amount of savings in real estate taxes and is an advocate on your behalf.

My husband was in front of Cuyahoga County just this past week on a tax appeal case. The attorney that hired him asked the revision board "what exactly are you looking for" and they informed the attorney that they ONLY want appraisals & they want the appraiser present at the time of the hearing. They do not want BPO's or Tax consultant reviews, at least in Cuyahoga Co.

Be sure that you deal with an appraiser that has been in front of a revision board & they understand the retrospective dates that the board is looking for.

REMEMBER: You get what you pay for!! There are reasons why some appraisers can demand more money that other appraisers!

 

[dtownjbrown]

1. You are planning to appeal your taxes, but upon what basis? (County has property data wrong? County has valued your home too high? County says you have something you do not? The county says all of your neighbors have lower values than you have? Etc., etc.)

Well, Im not really appealing my TAXES, but rather the market value that the county has listed for my home (35% of which is used to determine my property taxes). I believe the value is waaaaay too high. It appears that the year I purchased my home was a "re-valuation" year so any new purchases made that year set the market. In other words, instead of a county rep coming out to survey and inspect my newly purchased home (in order to adjust the previous market value accordingly, which was only $69K by the way)....they just took the sales price as the ACTUAL market value (which jacked it up to $95K). Now, I doubt my house was worth that much when I bought it and definitely dont think its worth that much now (and thus the reason for my appeal). Furthermore, I suspect the pre-purchase appraisal I mentioned earlier was "fixed" so that the home would be eligble for financing.....but Im still researching that to see if I have a "legitimate" review-worthy complaint.

2. You spend $550 for the appraiser, the report, and their time before the tax folks. The county lowers your value and as a result you save $100 per year on your taxes. Is it worth spending the $550??????????

Im hoping to save alot more than that on my taxes. As it stands right now, my semi-annual tax bill (based on 35% my $95K market value) comes out to just under $950. So, by my calculations, thats about $10 for each 1K of the value amount. If I can get that appealed down to just $85K (which Im sure is still too much for my home) that alone would save me $100 each bill, or $200 for the year. Most of the appraisal quotes Ive been getting are around $300... so yes, it's worth it!!!

3. You probably will want the appraiser to do a non-lender form (general purpose form or a narrative report).

Any suggestions on where I can find a copy of this "General Purpose Non-Lender" form? Maybe an office supply store or somewhere on the internet?

DT-You are correct in that CH is NOT NCH! Feel free to call me and discuss this. My office is 513-899-9582 and cell is 518-6469. ALso, my email is: fiehler @ roadrunner dot com (remove spaces)

TF - I will definitely be giving you a call on Monday in regards to the "CH is different than NCH" thing. I just discovered today (while continuing with the research of my pre-purchase appraisal) that two of the three comps used to value my home back in 2005 are in NCH......and here I was all concerned about the obvious differences (both are more than 1.5 miles away, one is thirty years newer & brick instead of wood siding, one has 2.5 baths but mine only has 1, the brick one is over 400sqft smaller than mine) but it seems like location might be a bigger problem. Im really loving this forum - Im learning sooooo much!!!!

Asking attorneys for referrals is one of the best methods of getting a competent appraiser.....Whoever said an engagement letter was also spot on. Make sure you have one and understand exactly what you are getting.

Thanks for seconding the attorney & engagement letter suggestions. First thing Monday morning, Im on it like "white on rice".

Well, I bank with those who gives me most of my business, small local banks, and know the decision makers personally. With small local banks, it's usually the VP or Pres who makes the call on most loans and whether they go to loan committee or not. For larger banks, ask for the compliance officer or loan officer for non-conforming loans. Most loan officers as larger banks who do conventional Fannie/Freddie loans are commissioned sales people, so I take their advise with a grain of salt.

Okay, let me recap: Small banks=VP or pres, Large banks=Compliance or non-conforming loan officer (but preferable compliance officer, unless loan officer is NOT commisioned)......is that right?

.....and they informed the attorney that they ONLY want appraisals & they want the appraiser present at the time of the hearing.

Whoa, I didnt even think about asking if the appraiser might be available to attend the hearing.....thanks for sharing your story

 

[TEL2002]

Well, Im not really appealing my TAXES, but rather the market value that the county has listed for my home (35% of which is used to determine my property taxes). I believe the value is waaaaay too high. It appears that the year I purchased my home was a "re-valuation" year so any new purchases made that year set the market. In other words, instead of a county rep coming out to survey and inspect my newly purchased home (in order to adjust the previous market value accordingly, which was only $69K by the way) 69K would have probably been the value from 3 years before....they just took the sales price as the ACTUAL market value (which jacked it up to $95K). Now, I doubt my house was worth that much when I bought it and definitely dont think its worth that much now (and thus the reason for my appeal). If you paid $95K, why do you object to the county saying your house is worth 95K??? Your argument could be based in the declining market over the past 1-2 years...if your neighborhood actually had a decline. Furthermore, I suspect the pre-purchase appraisal I mentioned earlier was "fixed" so that the home would be eligble for financing..if you think this is the case, you need to get your hands on that appraisal and have a retrospective review done on it. Make sure you get a good qualified apprasier to do the review...but Im still researching that to see if I have a "legitimate" review-worthy complaint. Appraisers that inflate the appraised value to 'make the deal happen' need to be driven out of the industry.

Whoa, I didnt even think about asking if the appraiser might be available to attend the hearing.....thanks for sharing your story This is why you are going to pay more than just the cost of an appraisal. The appraiser will also charge for their time at the tax boy's office. A portal to portal fee is fairly typical for this type of activity/testimony.

General purpose forms....they usually come with our appraisal software that all appraisers have. I'm not aware of any place where you can just buy a copy of the form. There are a couple of standard GP forms available to most appraisers. If you hire an appraiser just ask him/her for a blank copy of the form they will be using. Check with the county tax boys on what they like to have submitted to them. They may have certain requirements.

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

I was told by the County Revisions Board that appeal cases should reflect the CURRENT tax year, which in my county's case in 2008. So when selecting comps to determine the value of my home, I have to only look at sales between 1/1/2008 and 12/31/2008.



Yes, I am looking for someone who is experienced but am trying to figure out how to determine that by asking the "right" questions instead of taking their "word" for it. I also want to find someone who is ETHICAL and HONEST. I'm not totally sure yet (Im still doing some research) but I think the person who did my pre-purchase appraisal might have been one of those "bad apples" we've been reading about in the papers. I started a thread about it on the ASK AN APPRAISER forum, here's a link to it in case you're intereted in a little background on what got me started looking for an appraiser in the first place: http://appraisersforum.com/showthread.php?t=152010



A non-lending form? I havent come across that term yet in my research. My pre-purchase appraisal was done on a 2055 9-96 form so I went to the Fannie Mae website to see a list of other types of forms. Are all the ones I listed in my original post "lending"? Do non-lending forms have a number designation like the Fannie Mae forms? I want to get a look at them to familarize myself with the information captured on them.

My property is a single story, 2bed/1bath, bungalow-style home built in 1924. What type of report format "should" this type of property dictate?



LOL....actually, that question used to be on the top my list but I moved it down to the bottom for more effect.




Yeah, Ive been witness to that objection already. One of my other question posts turned into a sort of "I know you are but what am I" type debate among some of the responding posters. Thanks for the suggestion but I dont think I want to go there again




Great, I was hoping they were okay. What I really want to learn is what kinds of answers to expect, so that I can tell a "scripted" one from a "experienced" one. Any suggestions?



What a great idea, that's exactly what Im looking for.....someone whose more likely to take there time and do a thorough report instead of someone who is used to "chunking" them out quickly to meet financing

deadlines.

Thanks to you all for your feedback.....keep 'em coming

Dear Dtown;

Is your need for an appraiser based on an appeal you've already filed, or one you're about to file?

I ask because, for instance, in Cuyahoga County, the BOR is only now getting around to hearing appeals on tax year 2007 complaints. If you're going to appeal your 2008 taxes (just now due and payable as of 01/01/09) then any appraisal should be as of an effective date of 01/01/2008, the effective date the taxes were posted to the duplicate.

In that situation, an appraiser will want to consider sales from 07/01/07 through 06/30/08.

You do not want the appraisal done on a FNMA form! A clever BOR referee (did I just state an oxymoron ?) may dismiss it on its stated intended use basis. Shop for a general pupose form.

Before you hire an appraiser, measure the cost of what you will spend against the amount of tax you're likely to save. Most NEO counties give you more than enough info to make that calculation. For the circa 1920s 2 bedroom home you've described, you'll be spending $300 to $400 for well supported report in NE Ohio. Some may quote less, some more than this range, but generally, you will get what you pay for. Turn time should take from 7 to 14 days. This fee range does not include BOR testimony.

Also, be aware that an appraisal is not the only basis for challenging your assessed value. If you know of several similar homes in your neighborhood with much lower assessed values, present those as evidence at the hearing. If the physical features of your home differ significantly from those on the tax duplicate, you may have the basis of an appeal. County data is sometimes incorrect. For instance, does the county auditor believe your upper story is finished, and therefore, the home is larger than it actually is?

If your property is in Cuyahoga, Lorain, or Summit counties, feel free to PM me and I would be happy to refer several well qualified individuals.