Home (Purchase) Appraisals

If you want to buy a house you want to know what's it worth - what is the (market) price. The one who can tell you that value is the appraiser.
An appraiser is a professional person who can estimate what your home is worth. The appraiser will come to your house and list the number and size of the rooms and any extras, such as a fireplace, porch, pool, or garage. The appraiser will compare your home and property to other homes that have sold recently with similar features. The appraiser then estimates that your home might sell for approximately the same amount of money as similar homes. Appraiser's report is called an appraisal.

It's an estimate of what amount of money your home may sell for. An appraisal is a certified appraiser's calculation of the value of the house you want to buy or the value of your own home, at a given point in time. It takes into consideration such things as:
Valuable home improvements
The home's square footage
Construction quality
The home design
The home's floor plan
The neighborhood the house is located in
Availability of transportation, shopping and schools
Location, lot size, topography, view and landscaping.

An appraisal is very different from a home inspection which will warn you against anything in the new home that should be fixed. A home inspection must be conducted by a qualified home inspector.

There's also what is called a comparative market analysis. That is more or less an informal estimate of your home's market value. A real estate agent (also called realtor) makes an analysis based primarily on sales of comparable homes in the neighborhood. Compared to home appraisals, a comparative market analysis probably may be obtained at no cost.

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