There are many factors to consider when hiring an appraiser for your residential or commercial property. It is very important to take this decision seriously because a bad appraisal could cause you to overprice or under-price your home, and in either case you can end up losing money.
One of the first factors to consider is whether your appraiser is local or not. If you live in Del Mar, you’ll want to hire a San Diego appraiser, for example, because they will better understand the local market. And if you live in Los Angeles and hire an Orange County appraiser, as another example, they might charge you more for the cost and inconvenience of filling up their gas tank and sitting in traffic. It’s just always a good idea to choose a local business anyway, but when it’s going to save you money, then it’s a big deal.
It is also always best to hire a local appraiser because it will benefit your community and they will understand your market area better than someone from a different city or county. It’s important to hire an appraiser that is either licensed or certified, as well. If you believe your home is worth at least $800,000, it is best to go with a certified professional, because the license alone does not give someone the legal right to appraise a home at $1 million or more.
At the end of the day, the most important factor to consider is whether your appraiser has access to the MLS listing and is familiar with it. The MLS, or Multiple Listing Services database, provides the most important information for the appraisal process. If the appraiser does not find the comparable sales in MLS, they will probably not use them and this may make a significant difference to the value of your home or residential property.