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A home purchase is typically the largest investment someone will make. Protect yourself by getting your investment appraised! An appraiser will observe the property, analyze the data, and report their findings to their client. For the typical home purchase transaction, the lender usually orders the appraisal to assist in the lender’s decision to provide funds for a mortgage. While the lender is technically the owner of the appraisal, as a home buyer you still have certain rights:
- You have the right to obtain your own appraisal, even if you are paying cash for a property.
- You have the right to know what type of valuation service is being ordered for your loan.
- You have a right to make an appraisal a contingency in your sales agreement.
The appraiser is the independent, impartial, and objective professional in the mortgage transaction. An appraiser develops an appraisal which is a credible, reliable, and supported opinion of value. However, there are a number of other products which appraisers, real estate brokers, or other entities prepare which vary in levels of analysis, detail, and reliability. Learn more about appraisals and the other products in NAR’s Residential Appraisal Process for Home Buyers Brochure.
