Can anyone "appraise a home"?

Question

I'd like to show a seller how I arrived at my offer by writing up my own appraisal and showing it to him. I know that anyone can be an "inspector" and was wondering if this is also true with appraisals.

David Niles · Answer

Think I'll wait and call you tomorrow.

J Scott · Answer

The point is, for inspectors in my state, there are absolutely no eduction or professional licensing requirements, unlike an appraiser. So, I can legally advertise that I'm a home inspector in the state of Georgia without ANY consequence whatsoever. Back to the OPs point -- if he were in my state, he could write up an inspection report and hand it to the seller, and it would be perfectly legal. If he weren't charging himself to write the report, he wouldn't need a business license or any other license. He can't do this with an appraisal. Btw, if anyone needs any home inspections done in Georgia, give me a call, as I am a home inspector...but only for today...tomorrow I'm going to be a bartender... :)

James Vermillion · Answer

Since you are not an appraiser I would not throw around the term appraisal, that could be misleading. You are really performing a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis), which is an analysis done to determine the value of a property...that is what I would reference it as to the seller.

Bill Gulley · Answer

[quote=J Btw, if anyone needs any home inspections done in Georgia, give me a call, as I am a home inspector...but only for today...tomorrow I'm going to be a bartender... :) That works for me, I'm a mortgage processor today, tomorrow I'll be an investigator, but only in the morning, later I'll be on call to render first aid to swimmers at the lake as an emergency technician. Next week, for the whole week I'll be a social worker treating those afflicted with real estate investor syndrome, a condition of that effects many who fail to realize reality with grandiose tendencies....

Bill Gulley · Answer

J. Scott, I believe several states are still behind as to qualification requirements for an inspector, doesn't mean they have no license requirement at all, any business license required? No, not just anyone can do inspections in the scope of any business, assumed, as it's not your uncle inspecting a house for you as a family favor. Seems folks like for me to write a book for every sentence covering what should be assumed common sence. I'll have more coffee now :)

Bill Gulley · Answer

Why do you want to use the word "appraisal"? It is NOT an appraisal, it's an assessment, your analysis, your numbers but it is not an appraisal. Sounds like you want to use the term to give more weight to your assessment and present is as something it is not. If you are dealing with RE investors, call it what ever you like, it will just show a lack of knowledge, they will see you as a beginner and probably sluff it off. Dealing with the public in that manner is totally different.

J Scott · Answer

Absolutely agree with the first part (about appraisals)...but the second part may or may not be true... In my state (Georgia), there are absolutely no regulations or licensing around who can be (or who can call themselves) a property inspector. Sad, but true...

Bill Gulley · Answer

I'll state what James said with more insight perhaps.... If you call your assessment or your analysis an "appraisal" that's heading toward fraud. And, no, not just anyone can do inspections either.... In RE or in business, you can not use just any word or phrase you like, such leads to representations and misrepresentations gets you in trouble. I see you're not putting much effort in studying, simply using BP to get answers for to very simple elementary questions. Not saying don't ask questions, but as long as you have been here you're getting way behind the learning curve....come on, get with it!

Sean Dezoysa · Answer

Thank you James. Is it okay for me to call my appraisal an appraisal, or a company appraisal (ie no mention of "official" or "certified")?

James Vermillion · Answer

Sean, what you are looking to do is provide comps to show you are making a fair offer...correct? Appraisers must be certified, so while anyone can "appraise" a property, it will not be able to be used by the bank or be official. Having said that, you can absolutely provide data to the seller to explain how you came to the price of your offer, but you need to have access to that data and understand how to comp properties. You need to find like properties (similar size, features, condition, etc) in the area that have sold in the last 3 months and make adjustments for differences (small differences in sq ft, etc). By the way, when you present them to this do not try to pass it as an official appraisal...just let the seller know you have compiled some data to support your offer.