Home Appraisal Preparation Guide: A Practical Timeline and Local Checklist
A simple seven-day plan for an appraisal: confirm the assignment, gather records, arrange access, and know what happens after the inspection.
PMI Removal and Home Appraisals: Eligibility, Ordering and Cost
A home appraisal may support a PMI cancellation request, but your mortgage servicer sets the rules. Learn the original-value and current-value paths before ordering a valuation.
FSBO Appraisal Services in Hampton Roads: How to Hire
A for-sale-by-owner seller can hire a private appraiser for a defined listing decision. Learn the scope, credential, property information and lender limitations.
Home Services and Your Appraisal: What Matters and Who Handles It
Joe Ellington explains how cleaning, lawn care, repairs, and inspections differ from an appraisal, with firsthand examples from Hampton Roads.
What Lowers a Home Appraisal? Factors That Matter
Condition, location, recent sales, and timing can affect an appraisal. Review the evidence before challenging a report.
What Does an Appraiser Look For in a Home?
An appraiser observes the property and researches local sales. Learn what to prepare and how an appraisal differs from an inspection.
Home Inspection vs. Appraisal: What Each Report Tells You
An inspection investigates condition; an appraisal develops a value opinion. Buyers may need both, and neither report substitutes for the other.
Extraordinary Assumptions in Appraisals: What They Mean
An extraordinary assumption addresses an uncertain assignment fact that could affect value if false. Learn how it differs from a hypothetical condition.
External Obsolescence & Home Value
External obsolescence comes from outside the property. Joe Ellington explains how highways, aircraft noise, neighboring activity, and comparable sales affect an appraisal.