Appraisal Definition: How Your Home Value is Determined and Why
An appraisal is both a process and a report. Here’s how an appraisal is defined, why you need a value on your home, who can do it, and how it’s done.
An appraisal is the process of determining what something is worth, getting an official value on a big ticket item — whether that item is your engagement ring, your late grandfather’s Black Forest cuckoo clock, or your beloved home.
Insurance companies use appraisals to value items in your home, such as your engagement ring, so they can provide adequate coverage. Charitable contributions of property over $5,000 require a qualified appraisal for tax deduction purposes. You may also hear the term performance appraisal, which evaluates an employee’s accomplishments and may be used to justify a promotion, raise, or disciplinary action.
But if you’re buying or selling a home, you’re interested in a real estate appraisal. To provide you with the best definition of a home appraisal, who performs a home appraisal, and how it must be done, we spoke with Joe LoCicero, a top Florida real estate agent, and Diana Benson, owner and operator of Benson Appraisals in Gilbert, Arizona.
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Appraisal definition
General definition from Merriam-Webster
Appraisal (noun): an act or instance of appraising something or someone
Especially: a valuation of property by the estimate of an authorized person.
Appraisal definition from Investopedia
Appraisal (noun): An appraisal is a valuation of property, such as real estate, a business, collectible, or an antique, by the estimate of an authorized person.
