The Zen Real Estate Appraiser

  Can I choose my own Home Appraiser? As a homeowner the answer is Yes and No. Here's why: The Client decides who the Appraiser will be based upon the reason for the appraisal.  The method of choice depends on the regulations that are in place for the reason of the appraisal.  If you are buying or refinancing a home the typical process goes like this:     1. You decide which Lender to use.     2. The Lender decides if an appraisal is necessary.     3. If the Lender decides an appraisal is necessary then they will hire an Appraiser.      It does not matter who pays for the appraisal - in this case the Lender is our Client. Which means the Homeowner does not choose the Appraiser. How does the Lender choose? Generally speaking the Lender must have a process of choosing a random appraiser ensuring no undue pressure. There are different methods the Lenders use for hiring and it would be in your best interest to ask questions about how they assign an appraiser such as:   "Can I have

  Just when we thought things were stabilizing around here…. BAM Today I read a post by a realtor where she had over 130 showings in a weekend and received more than 50 offers for her listing. Yup. Spring 2022 is officially here. With the interest rates rising and the cost of goods increasing many would think the home sales prices would come down… but the opposite appears to be happening right now.  This graph reports the median sale prices for single family, detached homes in the 5 county Philadelphia area and we can clearly see:     1- The median sale prices are back up to the peak of last summer.     2- Buyers are once again paying over list price. Why?  Same reason as last summer - low inventory. Keep in mind - these stats reflect the larger market. We also need to take a look at the specifics of smaller markets when estimating value because the Buyer's wants and needs change depending on the type of home they are looking for… There is no one-size-fits-all….Every property is a