Estate Appraisals
An Estate Attorney recently asked me if it is always necessary for his clients to secure estate appraisals when settling an estate. He said that many of his clients considering using public sources like the County Property Appraisers site, Trulia or Zillow. Of course, he always recommends a complete appraisal in order to make the most informed and legally abiding decision, but he wanted to know what I, as an Appraiser thought.
There are several things that a consumer should know about using one of these sources to determine Market Value. In regard to the County Property Appraisers site, regardless of if it is Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Hernando or some other county they all use the same technique. That technique is mass appraisal which is very different than the approaches used by Independent Residential Appraisers. Mass appraising employs data from a large number of sales. It does not take into consideration the intricacies of your property especially if they are unknown. One example, unpermitted interior renovations. The other factor is that there is a lag time. Therefore, in an increasing market, you will be shortchanging yourself using this method.
Zillow
Sites such as Trulia or Zillow simply pull all the nearby sales and average the price per square foot. There is no consideration for an additional bedroom or bathroom, view, quality, features like swimming pools or remodeling efforts. If your property is the “ugly duckling” in the neighborhood with a nearby superior neighborhood it may be over-valued. Superior construction compared to nearby sales could result in under-value.
One more important thing to consider is the Short Sale and REO/Foreclosure properties that have recently sold. These sales are included in these types of mass appraising techniques which will typically drag down the value of non-distressed sales. My answer to the question is almost always yes, order an appraisal. Quite often the appraisal more than pays for itself.
For more appraisal info visit: FEMA Compliant Actual Cash Value or http://linkedin.com/in/shari-peterman-asa-ifa-2876795 Appraisals or call Shari Peterman directly at 727-505-6706. I look forward to hearing from you.