Appraisal to set sales price in advance?

[Lori Lloyd]

First post here, but long-time "stalker", looking for opinions. 

We have a house in need of repairs and want to sell it as-is.  The property is very unique and comps are hard to find. Tax appraisals/assessments are all over the place in our area right now as we are experiencing exceptional movement into the area and the tax man is going crazy here!  

Would you go ahead and pay for an independent appraisal before setting your price?  Having been a licensed realtor for 10 years (back at the "turn of the century", literally, lol), not once did I see an appraisal come back below the contracted price, but I am not up to date on what they are experiencing in this market.  

Of course, we think the house is the equivalent of the Taj Mahal!  We don't want to leave money on the table, but at the same time we don't want to sit on the place forever either.  What would you do, pre-appraisal to set price, or just roll with the your best guess based on what you can pull together in comps?  Completing the repairs in advance is not an option for us.