Home appraisal and inspection?

March 25th, 2010 | by admin |

Which do I get done first? I am administrator of my mother’s estate and I need to get the home inspected and appraised so I can look at my options on what to do next.

I am thinking the inspection because that would reveal any problems that I haven’t been able to access by myself. Does it matter and does one affect the other? Would an appraiser figure the inspection into his/her assessment of the property?

I do have an interest in purchasing the property myself but this is more to see if it’s worth trying to sell or if it’s better to let it go into foreclosure. The estate is insolvent so those are the only two options. I wish the insurance and retirement accounts didn’t bypass probate because that would have taken care of everything.

You need both but I would start with appraisal so you really understand the MARKET value of the home.

Unless there is serious problems with the home, an inspection is not normally going to turn up big enough items that would sway you from a decision on an appraisal. Inspections concentrate on mechanical, structural, plumbing etc

Given the market conditions right now….the appraisal is going to be your eye opener and allow you to know if you should proceed. Only then if it is worth it should you go ahead with an inspection.

Typical appraisal is $350, house inspections are app $250

I’m sure you understand the differences between the two.

Edit -

I would respectfully dissagree with the above poster. Getting a realtor to give you a market value is generally not a good idea in my experience. There are far too many inexperienced or bad real estate agents out there to use that as a reliable barometer or value. Sometimes they will over inflate the value based on emotion or in the hopes that you will sign with them because they "claim" they can get you that great price, when in fact they cannot. I just dealt with someone who after an appraisal they found that the list price was nearly a $100,000 above the appraised value. I’m sure that the above person is a credible realtor but there are far too many who are not. Always get an Appraisal from a licensed appraisor….their license is on the line, and they cannot afford to be wrong. They tend to be more conservative and you will end up in the end on the better side. If you just want a rough value estimate, you can get that from several internet sites that track home sales in your neighborhood, or many times your bank can do it for free. It is called a "drive by" appraisal at most banks.

But when your serious about a purchase, and you need an accurate result, always spend the money for a true appraisal.

  1. 3 Responses to “Home appraisal and inspection?”

  2. By Misty on Mar 25, 2010 | Reply

    I would get the inspection done if you prefer to make any necessary repairs before you have the home appraised. The home will most likely appraise for a slight amount more if there are no defects. Just remember both are going to be costly. I would probably just try to sell the home before you have either done because you don’t have to (in CA) have either one of those performed until you have a buyer for the property. Just make sure you note when selling the home that it is being sold as is an that you do not know the extent of any damages if there are any. Unless you are willing to make some or all repairs in which case you note that as well. Just list it and see what happens would be my advice. Good luck.

    Oh and this is just a side note to the answer below that you do not by any means need an appraisal to get an idea of what the home will sell for in this market. You can easily go to a realtor and have them do a competitive market analysis aka CMA on the home for FREE and tell you what you are looking at price wise on the home. It may not be dead on because they do not know the extent of any damages to the property but it will give you a good idea/ballpark range and FYI this is how Appraisers price homes. They do it by comparing homes in the neighborhood that have sold in the last 6 months time and adjust as needed for conditions. Also remember that if you are going to get an appraisal, they are only good for a short time and you will more then likely need to have another one done once you have a buyer for the property if it has been more then 30 days. Here in California thats how it works anyway. Keep that in mind before you go blow $300-400 on one that depending on where you are, you may have to do again.
    References :
    Realtor of 4 years. I also do CMA’s on properties in foreclosure for banks. Also working towards getting my Appraisers License :)

  3. By richardcio on Mar 25, 2010 | Reply

    You need both but I would start with appraisal so you really understand the MARKET value of the home.

    Unless there is serious problems with the home, an inspection is not normally going to turn up big enough items that would sway you from a decision on an appraisal. Inspections concentrate on mechanical, structural, plumbing etc

    Given the market conditions right now….the appraisal is going to be your eye opener and allow you to know if you should proceed. Only then if it is worth it should you go ahead with an inspection.

    Typical appraisal is $350, house inspections are app $250

    I’m sure you understand the differences between the two.

    Edit -

    I would respectfully dissagree with the above poster. Getting a realtor to give you a market value is generally not a good idea in my experience. There are far too many inexperienced or bad real estate agents out there to use that as a reliable barometer or value. Sometimes they will over inflate the value based on emotion or in the hopes that you will sign with them because they "claim" they can get you that great price, when in fact they cannot. I just dealt with someone who after an appraisal they found that the list price was nearly a $100,000 above the appraised value. I’m sure that the above person is a credible realtor but there are far too many who are not. Always get an Appraisal from a licensed appraisor….their license is on the line, and they cannot afford to be wrong. They tend to be more conservative and you will end up in the end on the better side. If you just want a rough value estimate, you can get that from several internet sites that track home sales in your neighborhood, or many times your bank can do it for free. It is called a "drive by" appraisal at most banks.

    But when your serious about a purchase, and you need an accurate result, always spend the money for a true appraisal.
    References :

  4. By e_businessolutions on Mar 25, 2010 | Reply

    I would get the appraisal and then the inspection if you plan on keeping the house. First find out if the property has good value through the appraisal.

    Then if the value versus the mortgage owed is worth it to you and you determine that at this point you will keep the property then get an inspection to see what the conditions of the house are.

    Besides if you are going to get a loan to buy the house you will have to get an inspection anyway because the bank will not do the loan without it.

    But before you get the loan get the inspection because you want to reveal any problems with the house if any, specially if there is a problem with the structure or the foundation of the house.

    Foundation problems could cost from $7,000 to $35,000 and the same for structural damage. If you decide to sell the house and you have the rights to the house, I would suggest sell it.

    Where are you from ? If you will sell the property you can email me and I might be interested as long it is not in probate. Hope this helps.

    Good Luck,

    Reinaldo
    References :

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