What was the appraiser thinking? That’s not always easy to tell since an appraisal report can often be more than 25 pages in length. Where do you even begin to understand the rationale of the appraised value?

Over the past couple weeks I’ve shown you some of the big-ticket items to look for in an appraisal report (see Part 1 and Part 2). Today I wanted to wrap up this series by providing an example of an appraisal report that includes the information from the previous posts as well as a few extra tidbits. This example has sections highlighted in bold blue text to help you get straight to some of the most important items to review. This is perfect for home owners, attorneys and anyone in the real estate community wanting to brush up on the art of reading an appraisal. Ultimately, knowing these things may help you gauge whether the report is reliable or not (as well as give you a framework for challenging a bad appraisal).

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD the example report. I’ve highlighted about ten sections in blue and included descriptions for ease of use. I’m also glad to visit your office to lead discussion to talk through this document (it would take 10-15 min).

Please note each appraisal software company may have a slightly different layout, and that appraisals for non-lending purposes may look even less similar.

Any questions or stories to share? Comment below.

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