Be it buying or selling property, there are certainly a lot many formalities regarding the same. One of such formalities is getting a home appraisal done. This procedure has its respective advantages, both for the buyer of the house and the seller of the property.

What is a Home Appraisal?

This is a process that includes finding out the current price range of a particular property. This process is useful for the buyer, seller, as well as the bank who is offering a real estate loan for the purchase. By getting a home appraisal done, the buyer can determine if the seller is demanding more money than the market value. The bank would require these documents for processing the loan request made by the buyer for the property purchase.

On the other hand, the seller would be able to find out the value that he should receive on the real estate sale. The person or agency who does the home inspection is known as an appraiser. In the home appraisal procedure; the appraiser visits the property, clicks pictures, records the site measurements, and notes other aspects of the property, and eventually provides the requester with the report.

Types of Home Appraisals

Typically, there are three types of home appraisals that are done; namely from professional certified appraisers, real estate dealers and agencies, and online home appraisals. It will not cost you anything if you do an online home appraisal. There are some websites which give you a report according to the details you enter in, the location, and other similar factors.

Realtors may even give you reports based on their level of expertise and estimation. There are chances that they might charge you some amount for the service. If you avail the services of professional certified appraisers, you will have to pay a certain amount.

How Much do Home Appraisals Cost?

The cost is generally paid by the purchaser of the property. If you choose to get the home appraised by a professional appraiser, you may have to pay somewhere around $250 to $500. For a house worth $250,000 you may have to pay $300 roughly. Some professional appraisers may give you a separate report of the property prices in your neighborhood, for which they may charge an additional $50.

The cost also depends on how big your home is and the location of the property. Bigger the real estate, more will be the cost. For example, the overall cost to appraise a family home in New York City is $350; whereas in Bend, Oregon, it is somewhere around $475.

In some areas, the cost can even go up to a $1000. If you are want to appraise a property which is to be used for income generation, the cost would be more. In some loan programs, the buyer might be required to present a ‘drive-by’ appraisal report for loan processing, which may rule out the need for a full appraisal.

For a property buyer, spending few hundred dollars on a professional home appraisal is any time better than giving thousands of additional dollars to the seller.