• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sacramento Appraisal Blog | Real Estate Appraiser

Real estate appraisals for divorce, estate settlement, loans, property tax appeal, pre-listing and more. We cover Sacramento, Placer and Yolo County. We're professional, courteous and timely.

  • About
  • Appraisals
  • Order
  • Ask Ryan
  • Areas
  • Classes
  • Press
  • Trends
  • Share
  • Contact

A “cheat sheet” of information to give the appraiser during a refinance

November 18, 2014 By Ryan Lundquist 6 Comments

What type of information can home owners give appraisers during a refinance? Last month I put together a “cheat sheet” for listing agents to use during a sale, but I had several requests for something to use for a refinance. Loan officers and real estate agents, save this form to your desktop and consider sharing it with your clients as needed. If you can help home owners communicate more effectively about their property and the neighborhood, it can give the appraiser more data to consider, which can sometimes impact the value. Also, you’ll look like a rock star by providing excellent service.

A “cheat sheet” to communicate with appraisers: The document below helps address some of the questions appraisers tend to ask home owners, and it also gives insight into the neighborhood. You can quickly fill it out, and give it to the appraiser in person (or email it). Feel free to edit the document as needed. Download in WORD or a PDF.

information for the appraiser example

EXAMPLE OF INFORMATION SHEET FILLED OUT

information example to the appraiser

This document addresses recent improvements made to the subject property, but it also gives an opportunity for home owners to share any insight about the neighborhood, school district boundaries, coming changes in the city, reasons why people are buying in the area, or insider knowledge about the subject property or street. Hopefully the appraiser is in tune with these things, but I recommend not assuming. Remember, this is potential market data, and it can sometimes make a difference in the appraised value.

Some quick tips:

  1. Save this document to your desktop.
  2. Tell the truth in everything you write.
  3. Feel free to skip, delete, or add any categories.
  4. You don’t need to write a novel, but it’s okay if the document ends up being more than one page (keep it less than two though).
  5. Be specific about upgrades. For instance, instead of saying, “The house was remodeled throughout,” unpack what that means and when any remodeling was done (if you know).
  6. Remember, this information is about sharing facts instead of pressure to hit a certain value. This is exactly why it’s okay to share this type of information. During the inspection, simply say, “Here is some information about my property”, and hand the document to the appraiser.
  7. Use the “other information” section at the very bottom to mention any changes in the neighborhood that might be relevant for the appraiser to know about (parks, streets, land uses, zoning, businesses, etc…).

DOWNLOAD the WORD document or a DOWNLOAD a PDF.

Questions: Do you think this document would be useful? Anything you’d add or take away?

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

Share:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: appraisal methodology, can you talk to the appraiser, communicating with appraisers, data for appraiser, document to give appraiser, form to fill out for appraiser, information sheet for the appraiser, list of updates, resources, talking to the appraiser, things appraisers consider in value, upgrades

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joe Lynch says

    November 18, 2014 at 7:36 AM

    Ryan,
    Nice job. I plan to add as a separate field “Have you added on to the house?”

    Reply
    • Ryan Lundquist says

      November 18, 2014 at 8:31 AM

      Thanks Joe. Nice addition (literally). 🙂

      Reply
  2. Gary Kristensen says

    November 18, 2014 at 8:17 AM

    Great idea for a cheat sheet for refinance. I have a similar list of questions that I ask when I am scheduling an appraisal inspection. I will usually ask, “What significant changes or updates have you made since you owned the house?” Sometimes, I find information that is useful, even if the changes were made twenty years ago, like an addition.

    Reply
    • Ryan Lundquist says

      November 18, 2014 at 8:33 AM

      That’s a great question, Gary. Well said on the usefulness of information – even when something is not necessarily recent. I’m glad you brought that up. Thank you.

      Reply
  3. Tom Horn says

    November 18, 2014 at 12:08 PM

    Very good resource to provide to home owners Ryan. The question I like the most is the one asking them why they bought the house. This can provide insight that we don’t normally get and can help us understand what drives prices and demand in the neighborhood.

    Reply
    • Ryan Lundquist says

      November 18, 2014 at 2:39 PM

      Thanks Tom. I like that one too. It’s sometimes a telling answer full of market nuggets so to speak.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Ryan

 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram

Subscribe to Weekly Post

* indicates required

Search this site

Blog Categories

  • Appraisal Stuff (407)
  • Bankruptcy (3)
  • Divorce (4)
  • Estate Settlement (6)
  • FHA Appraisal Articles (56)
  • Internet (53)
  • Market Trends (476)
  • Photos from the Field (126)
  • Property Taxes (70)
  • Random Stuff (231)
  • Resources (566)
  • Videos (161)

Blog Archives: 2009 – 2021

Lundquist Appraisal Links

  • Appraisal Order Form
  • Appraisal Website
  • Rancho Cordova Appraiser Website
  • Sacramento Appraisal Blog Sitemap
  • Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser Facebook Page
  • Twitter: Sacramento Appraiser (@SacAppraiser)
  • YouTube: Sacramento Appraiser Channel

Most Recent Posts

  • My new sewer line adds huge value, right?
  • The housing market nobody predicted
  • Real estate trends to watch in 2021
  • You carried me & a spreadsheet for Christmas
  • Real estate drama (and a market update)
  • Goodbye California. Is everyone leaving?
  • How much are buyers paying above the list price?
  • What would happen to the housing market if we went on lockdown again?
  • Overpricing, multiple offers, & hot ranges
  • Why your home isn’t worth 16% more today

Disclaimer

First off, thank you for being here. Now let's get into the fine print. The material and information contained on this website is the copyrighted property of Ryan Lundquist and Lundquist Appraisal Company. Content on this website may not be reproduced or republished without prior written permission from Ryan Lundquist.

Please see my Sharing Policy on the navigation bar if you are interested in sharing portions of any content on this blog.

The information on this website is meant entirely for educational purposes and is not intended in any way to support an opinion of value for your appraisal needs or any sort of value conclusion for a loan, litigation, tax appeal or any other potential real estate or non-real estate purpose. The material found on this website is meant for casual reading only and is not intended for use in a court of law or any other legal use. Ryan will not appear in court in any capacity based on any information posted here. For more detailed market analysis to be used for an appraisal report or any appraisal-related purpose or valuation consulting, please contact Ryan at 916-595-3735 for more information.

There are no affiliate links on this blog, but there are three advertisements. Please do your homework before doing business with any advertisers as advertisements are not affiliated with this blog in any way. Two ads are located on the sidebar and one is at the bottom of each post. The ads earn a minor amount of revenue and are a simple reward for providing consistent original content to readers. If you think the ads interfere with your blog experience or the integrity of the blog somehow, let me know. I'm always open to feedback. Thank you again for being here.

Copyright © 2021 Sacramento Appraisal Blog