An appraisal provides an unbiased estimate of a property’s market value based on current market conditions and the property’s characteristics.
Conducted by a credentialed (licensed) appraiser who follows specific guidelines and standards to ensure accuracy and impartiality.
Includes a comprehensive analysis of comparable property sales, market trends, and the property's features.
Helps lenders determine the appropriate loan amount for a mortgage, ensuring that the loan amount does not exceed the property's value.
An appraisal is not a home inspection. While an appraiser notes the general condition of the property, they do not check for structural issues, code compliance, or mechanical system functionality. A separate home inspection, conducted by a licensed home inspector, is recommended to evaluate the property’s condition thoroughly.
An appraisal is an opinion and estimate of market value, not an exact figure. Market conditions can change, and different appraisers may have slightly different opinions on value.
An appraisal is not used to determine property taxes. Property tax assessments are conducted by local tax authorities and may differ from the appraised market value.
The appraised value is not necessarily the price you will get if you sell or buy the property. Market conditions, buyer demand, and other factors can influence the actual sale price.
The subject property inspection is the initial step in the engagement. Timing is dependent on local market conditions. Availability and communication between appraiser and access contact will help to expedite the process.
Your agent, loan officer or broker may be a resource to outline best practices and expectations on property preparation, availability of utilities, entry to outbuildings and internal access the appraiser may need to complete the inspection.
The appraiser will conduct a thorough inspection of your property.
They will measure the exterior and interior, take photographs, and note the condition of the property.
The appraiser may ask questions about the property’s history and any recent upgrades of renovations. Information interested parties want the appraiser to consider should be offered at this time. Care should be taken to avoid discussion of target valuation or communication that may impact the independence of the appraiser’s determination of market value.
The inspection typically takes 1-2 hours, dependent upon the size of the property and its complexities.
The appraiser will research your subject’s market for comparable properties recently listed and sold. In some cases, the appraiser may need to expand parameters for comparable consideration. These circumstances and reasons will be explained in the report.
They will consider factors such as location, size, condition, and amenities.
Using this information, the appraiser will prepare a detailed report estimating the market value of your property.
You are entitled to a copy of the appraisal report the lender receives. If your lender delegates this process to AXIS, we’ll invite you to obtain a copy report in a manner compliant with federal regulations. If your lender handles this process directly, a copy of the report may be obtained from your loan officer or lender representative.
Review the report carefully. It should include the estimated market value, details of the comps used, and descriptions of the property’s features.
You can request a Reconsideration of Value (ROV) if you believe there are errors or omissions in the report or if you have additional information that was not considered.
Submit the ROV request to your lender with supporting documentation.
Please note that your mortgagee is required to provide disclosures related to the borrower-initiated reconsideration of value (ROV) process and they may require additional steps and/or information to complete the process. The following disclosures are related to AXIS best practices in adherence to Mortgagee Letter 2024-07.
AXIS has provided the following ROV Form to all our clients. You may click the link to download the form if you require it.
The ROV Form should be completed following the instructions outlined in each section.
You do not need to complete every section and the form should only be completed with information related to the value conclusion.
FHA/HUD LOANS ONLY - Any clarifications or corrections required that are unrelated to the value conclusion should be communicated to your lender representative and/or underwriter to request outside of the ROV request/process.
Once the form is completed, please send it to your mortgagee for receipt, review, and submission. When the ROV is received from the lender, AXIS Quality Control reviews the form in its entirety prior to posting it to the appraiser. If there are any sections that are incomplete or non-compliant, we may send the form back to the lender for revisions or additional information.
Once the ROV is posted to the appraiser, we expect the appraiser to respond in 48 hours. If there are any delays that may cause extended timeframe for completion, our team will communicate that with the lender.
After the appraiser’s response is received, it is reviewed by AXIS Quality Control to ensure that the appraiser has supplied an adequate response and has made a clear statement as to the result of the ROV.
The revised appraisal report is provided to the lender via the platform it was ordered and if we are an authorized party, the report may be sent securely to the borrower directly or the borrower will receive it directly from their lender.
You may only submit one Reconsideration of Value request.
To ensure an optimal response from the appraiser, we kindly request that you limit the number of sales for reconsideration to five. To facilitate your selection process, we have compliled a list of common pitfalls to avoid:
Kindly review these guidelines when choosing your top five sales and provide a brief rationale for why each of your selected sales better represent the subject property than those currently included in the report.
AXIS
1101 Fifth Avenue, Suite 210
San Rafael, California 94901
(888) 806-2947
