Information for Homeowners

When do I need an appraisal?

The most common reason to have an appraisal done is for a mortgage transaction.  But there are many reasons to use an appraisal that don't involve a lender at all.

 

  1. Pre-listing services (whether an agent is involved or not)
  2. Challenge the county's tax assessment of your property's value
  3. Remove PMI and lower a monthly mortgage payment
  4. Reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Verify a different appraiser's report
  6. Partial interest value (divorce, estate, probate, easements)
  7. Defend your rights in a condemnation/eminent domain case
  8. Insurance valuation or claim
  9. Collateral for a bail bond or hard money loan

​Steve Souza Appraisals
We understand the special needs of a consumer in need of appraisal services.  Many of our any clients are familiar with the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, but you as a consumer will get an extra level of service with an explanation of the process, and consumer-friendly reporting forms.

Pre-listing Services/For Sale By Owner

Since you have an emotional attachment to your own home, it's often very hard to be objective about it. Professional appraisers will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear.  In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price, a professional appraisal is a crucial, tangible negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer.  It's an independent third party's opinion of your house's price. Interested buyers will be far more likely to give credibility to a qualified appraiser's value judgement than an emotionally attached seller.

We also provide measurement services, pre-listing inspections, data retrieval and analysis. 

Remove PMI
A popular way to save money for homeowners is to get the PMI, or "Private Mortgage Insurance", removed from their mortgage loan, PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan amount is less than 80% of the value of your home. In most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan and keep more money in your pocket.


Challenging a property tax assessment
If you live in an area with declining home values -- your local tax assessor may have yours overvalued.  This means you're paying higher taxes than you should be paying.  The earlier you take care of a matter like this, the better, since your property assessment may go up again in the next period. Getting a professional appraisal from Steve Souza Appraisals is your perfect weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Unfreeze your HELOC

Your lender might choose to automatically freeze your "home equity line of credit", or HELOC, if your property is close to a declining area -- even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can be be destructive to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also disadvantageous from a cash flow angle. Steve Souza Appraisals can help you reinstate your HELOC.


 

Already have an appraisal?  Need appraisal or data review services?

Do you need a seasoned expert to double-check your appraisal for accuracy, or do you need a second opinion of value without the added cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal?  We offer field reviews where we'll go out and observe the subject and comps in question.  If appropriate, we'll provide you with a desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide a retrospective review of any appraisal you may have had in the past.  While typically requested by banks, you may wish to use this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.