Essential Qualities of an Excellent Home Appraiser

Having a home appraiser is essential when trying to decide if buying real estate is advantageous. A good appraiser is able to assure both buyers and lenders that they are making a good investment. In the past, real estate appraisers have gotten a bad rap for alleged collusion and bad practices. Therefore, it is important that you take the time to find a trusted appraisal company that has your best interest in mind. When considering an appraisal company, keep an eye out for these qualities.

Knowledgeable

Home appraisers should have a state certification, but the opportunity for education does not stop there. A good appraiser will have honors through evaluations from professional organizations like the Appraisal Institute. This requires appraisers to take a rigorous course that broadens and deepens their knowledge. Aside from educational merits, they should have strong math skills and other technical training to be able to properly analyze data points to make the most accurate assessment.

Ethical

Respectable appraisals come with integrity and are from an unbiased third party. Being objective is key when deciding on the true value of real estate. Personal biases have no place in the valuation of real estate due to the factual nature of the task. If a home appraiser has a bias due to emotional ties, homeowner’s opinions, or other causes, then they are not the right choice to perform the real estate appraisal.

Communicative 

A quality home appraiser will be a good listener and communicator. Both of these qualities are important as they will need to interview people, speak with commercial tenants, and acquire all the necessary information to create a proper valuation. A good home appraiser knows the right questions to ask to get the most accurate information.

Flexible

The real estate market can be turbulent and evolve rapidly. Appraising is a detailed process and requires people who have superb analytical skill and are detail-oriented. However, good appraisers also need to be flexible as there are many industry trends to be aware of. Appraisers need to be flexible in their opinions and ideas when they come across new information so that they can apply it to the current market.

A home appraiser needs to be someone you can trust to get the job done ethically and knowledgeable while staying flexible and having open lines of communication.