Home Appraisal Requirements for Homeowners

As a homeowner, it is a smart idea to have an idea of the current market value of your home at any given time. In order to find out the current market value you must pay for a home appraisal. When making a final decision on a home appraiser, you must keep a few very important requirements in mind besides the cost.

Lender Approved

If you plan to use this appraisal to prove the current market value of your home to your lender, you have to make sure that the lender approves of the service first. Otherwise you could pay for an appraisal that does not hold any weight with your mortgagor. To protect the mortgage company's interests, the lender must be confident that the appraiser's expert opinion of your home's value can be trusted and that the findings are reasonable and accurate.

Membership in a Trusted Organization

It is also important to determine if the appraisal service is a member of an established industry organization, like the Appraisal Institute (appraisalinstitute.org), which has chapters nationwide. In order to gain and maintain membership in this type of professional organization, the appraiser must meet a set of strict standards and pass rigorous tests.

Certified in Your State

Make sure that the appraiser you choose is certified and licensed in the state where the property in question is located. His appraisal certification should specifically include residential properties. Appraisers are required to attend classes, take state-wide exams, and sometimes work as apprentices for a period of time. An appraiser who was trained in your state will be more knowledgeable about the property in your location as compared to an out-of-state service. An in-state appraiser will be more familiar with the area as well as trends in the market for that state.

Source:

Findarticles.com: Home Appraisal Requirements

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