Are real estate appraisals always accurate?

Real estate appraisals generally are used by lenders to ensure they do not underwrite a property for more than it is worth. Appraisals also are used when a property’s value is difficult to assess due to a lack of recent real estate activity in a specific market. Finally, appraisals are always performed on short sale homes in Illinois. The lenders do this for their own protection. This is actually good for home buyers and their realtors in Illinois because it is one way to ensure you do not pay more for a home than it is worth. Another benefit for buyers whose mortgages are insured through the Federal Housing Administration is that appraisers must disclose potential problems relating to the physical condition of a home.

Always keep in mind that an appraisal is just the opinion of one trained professional based on past sales data, location, lot size and the condition of the property. Bowers Realty Group expert real estate agents take this information for what it is… one person’s estimate of a home’s value and our real estate experts will fight in your best interest to ensure you either receive the true value of what your house is worth when selling your house in Illinois or that you do not pay too much for the home you are buying in Illinois.

Unfortunately, some real estate appraisers may be lazy or looking to complete their appraisal quickly. In these cases they will take recommendations for the appraised value from the Illinois real estate agent that is listing the home. These realtors have a vested interest in ensuring that the home appraises for the price they have it listed for in the MLS (or at least the price they have a contract for). Inaccurate appraisal work like this will cost home buyers money when purchasing a home in Illinois. Bowers Realty Group realtors can easily identify cases where real estate appraisers (or the listing agent) provide inaccurate pictures of the current real estate market value of a home in Illinois by using “selective” comparable homes to determine an appraisal value.

Again, unfortunately, there are real estate appraisers that may not understand how there are different pricing tiers in today’s real estate market in Illinois. These IL real estate appraisers may not understand that there are different pricing tiers in Illinois for traditional IL home sales, IL short sales, and IL foreclosures. Our team of the best real estate agents in Illinois knows the difference in pricing tiers and stays current on the IL home sale pricing statistics, IL short sale and foreclosure pricing statistics, and how incorrect real estate pricing impacts house sales in IL. Our real estate agents will be your advocates to ensure home appraisers determine the correct appraised value for the home you are buying or the house you are selling in Illinois.