Can Anybody Do My Home Appraisal? Why or Why Not? Your Questions, Answered
If you’re buying or refinancing a house, you’ll want to know who does home appraisals. Their conclusion of your home’s value influences a lot of homebuying variables!
Home shopping is like running a race — there are a lot of hurdles to clear before you cross the finish line! The process starts with getting preapproved for a mortgage, finding a home and making an offer, and having your offer accepted. That’s common knowledge, anyway … but a long stretch of the race happens after that!
One of the biggest hurdles to clear after you’ve had an offer accepted is the home appraisal. Your new home has to appraise at least at your offer price so that you can qualify for a mortgage. Because the home serves as collateral for the loan, the lender wants to know … wait, what do they want to know?
Paying for an appraisal is part of the buyer’s responsibility — but who does the appraisal, and are they worth what you’ll spend?
Here’s who does home appraisals and how they’re trained to become qualified to determine what a house is worth.
Find an Agent To Help You Make Sense of Your Home Appraisal
Working with a top agent can help you take the stress out of evaluating your low appraisal options.
Who does home appraisals?
First off, there is more than one type of home appraisal. At the moment, you can find three general types of home appraisals: a traditional full home appraisal conducted by an appraiser, a hybrid appraisal that’s reviewed by an appraiser, and a broker price opinion (BPO) or comparative market analysis (CMA) put together by a real estate agent or broker. So, who does your home appraisal will depend on the type of appraisal your lender requires.
But generally speaking, the answer is an appraiser — if it’s not a full appraisal, then an appraiser is likely to be peripherally involved. If you’re paying cash for your home, whether or not you get a full appraisal to confirm that the value aligns with what you’re paying to own it is up to you.
