Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn answers this important question: What type of information do I need to lower my Birmingham, AL real estate taxes| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn explains the top FHA appraisal problems that buyers, sellers, and agents need to be aware of.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham home appraiser Tom Horn discusses what options you have if you get a low appraisal.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Tom Horn discusses some important points that sellers should consider when asking themselves whether a Birmingham home appraisal is worth the money.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I've written about this in the past but thought I would mention it again because I have received a couple of calls within the past month from loan officers not happy with the appraisals they have received. In both situations, out of town appraisers were used.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn discusses the benefits of sharing a prelisting appraisal or keeping it private from potential buyers,| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I was looking into my blog stats recently and ran across a question that someone had typed into their search engine that led them to my blog. The question was “Does the appraiser have to look into my closets? I thought this was such an interesting question that I decided to write a post about […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn discusses why appraisal waivers may not be a good choice for homebuyers.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Have you ever wondered why the appraiser needs a copy of the sales contract? They’re just going to use it to come in at the contract price, right (not really)? If you’ve ever asked yourself this question I hope I can help you understand why it is important that the appraiser review the sales contract […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn discusses what a listing agent can do to be proactive in the appraisal process.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I was doing some work recently for a novice property investor and he was asking me some questions about FHA required repairs. He wanted to prepare the house he just purchased so that if the buyers were going to use FHA financing there wouldn’t be any issues at the last minute to hold up the […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn answers the question: What Is A Comparable? Find out what criteria appraisers use to choose comps.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Geographic competence in appraising has become a hot topic over the last couple of years. It refers to an appraisers knowledge of a market and his/her ability to produce an accurate and reliable report. One way to measure this is by looking at someones experience of working in an area. Take a look below at […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I get asked this question a lot, so I thought I would address this issue that many people are curious about. I don’t think it happens ALL the time but I know real estate agents have seen it enough to question why it seems the appraisers value is the same as the contract amount. To […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
This is a question I hear all of the time. It seems like such a simple question but the implementation of various laws several years ago has confused real estate agents about whether they are allowed to provide sales comparables to the appraiser. Many believe they cannot even communicate with the appraiser, but this is […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
A "Head and Shoulders" inspection is a requirement of FHA appraisal but many don't know what this is. Real estate appraiser Tom Horn explains what it is and why it's important.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL appraiser Tom Horn discusses why the appraiser-agent relationship is important in a home sales transaction.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL appraiser Tom Horn discusses how a pre-listing appraisal can help to sell an expired listing.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL appraiser Tom Horn explains what a competitive market area is and how it can be used to locate comparable sales.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser discusses options for buyers and sellers when the house doesn't appraise for the contract price| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Communication is key in everything. An appraisers job is to communicate the value of real estate to their clients and we accomplish this typically by producing a report that gives detailed information about the property we are appraising as well as market data that supports our opinion of value. Because this is part of our […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I recently had the opportunity to participate in the 2014 Alabama Realtors Winter Conference. I was part of a panel, along with commercial appraiser Mark Barrs (that’s he and I in the photo), that was put together to answer appraisal related questions that agents might have. It went well and I appreciated the chance to […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn discusses the 5 Items An Appraiser Looks For In An MLS Listing to help in estimating value.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn provides a helpful form for agents and sellers to provide to appraisers so they can provide a more accurate appraisal.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, Alabama appraiser Tom Horn discusses the importance of making sure that your home is priced accurately.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I wrote a blog post earlier this year that showed you how to determine how accurate Zillow was in your area. The response on this was phenomenal so I thought I would follow up that post with one in which I explain to you why the Zillow “zestimate” can be so inaccurate. With so many people […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
1. It costs too much money- Really? If you think about the fact that by pricing the home correctly you could cut the marketing time down and reduce marketing costs, this becomes a no brainer. In addition, the modest cost would probably not exceed future price reductions that you may need because it was priced […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
A few days ago I had a real estate agent friend ask me how much homes were appraising for per square foot in a local neighborhood. It was a very good question, especially for anyone who wants to get an idea of their home’s value. And because I get asked this question a lot I […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
My last post emphasized the importance of not forgetting to get an appraisal when selling your home through an online service. You may be in a money saving mode since your are choosing to go this route but you don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot and sabotage your efforts by not pricing your […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
When I call a homeowner to set up the appointment to do an appraisal on their home the most common question I get is “What do I need to do before you get here?”. Today I thought I would share with you what I tell them so that it might help you the next time […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
The “Subject To” appraisal is one that many people do not understand, so I thought I would share with you today a situation in which a “Subject To” appraisal could have saved the homeowner thousands of dollars. A “Subject To” appraisal is one in which the value is based on a what a home will […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Over the past several years appraisers and real estate agents have had a confusing relationship. When I say this I am mainly talking about an agents understanding of exactly what they can and cannot talk to an appraiser about. I thought I would approach this topic from a qualifications point of view and look at […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn discusses what qualitative analysis is and how agents can use it to price their listings.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
You may ask “what can I do to help the appraiser that will help my home’s appraised value?” I hope to share with you some things that can aid the appraiser and possibly have a positive effect on the appraisal report and hopefully your home’s value. I had this topic picked out to include for […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
It seems there is still some confusion about what real estate agents and real estate appraisers can talk about. Many believe that there can be no discussion between the two and others still have no idea that it is unethical to suggest to an appraiser that a home should appraise for a certain amount. The […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I was recently asked by a real estate agent if a sunroom could be included in the gross living area of a home. The is the explanation I gave them.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I was asked a question this week about what qualifies as “finished” basement area in a home. An agent was going to list a home and the basement area had some partitioned sheetrock walls in the basement. The homeowner wanted to count this as finished area, so the agent wanted to get clarification on how […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
The Birmingham, Alabama Multiple Listing Service (now known as the Greater Alabama MLS) is unique in that it is not a requirement to list the gross living area (square footage) of listings. In 2010 I wrote about the new option they offered to provide this information, however as of the current date I still do […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL home appraiser Tom Horn discusses the pros and cons of getting a pre-listing appraisal before selling your home.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
People are different. Some like to get their hands dirty in projects, while others may want to hire someone to do it for them. The abundance of DIY shows on T.V. have given people the knowledge and motivation to do it themselves, learn something new, and save some money. There are people who have built […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Just because you use a real estate agent does not mean you shouldn't get a pre-listing appraisal. It can help you sell your home by providing peace of mind to the buyer that your home is not over priced.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham real estate appraiser Tom Horn explains what external obsolescence is and how it can affect the value of real estate.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham, AL real estate appraiser Tom Horn discusses five things you must do after getting your appraisal to help save time and/or money.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
I spoke recently at a local Realtor group about how Realtors could “think like an appraiser”. By being on the same page as the appraiser I believe that there will be fewer value issues on the back end of the sales transaction. By following similar methods as appraisers to arrive at their list prices, Realtors […]| Birmingham Appraisal Blog
Birmingham real estate appraiser Tom Horn discusses if it realistic to be able to sell your home for its appraised value.| Birmingham Appraisal Blog