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The Appraisal Profession
What is an Appraisal? (from the appraisal institute)
​An appraisal is a professional appraiser’s opinion of value. The preparation of an appraisal involves research into appropriate market areas; the assembly and analysis of information pertinent to a property; and the knowledge, experience, and professional judgment of the appraiser. Appraisals may be required for any type of property, including single-family homes, apartment buildings and condominiums, office buildings, shopping centers, industrial sites, and farms. The reasons for performing a real property appraisal are just as varied. They are usually required whenever real property is sold, mortgaged, taxed, insured, or developed. For example, appraisals are prepared for:
  • Mortgage lending purposes
  • Tax assessments and appeals of assessments
  • Negotiation between buyers and sellers
  • Government acquisition of private property for public use
  • Business mergers or dissolutions
  • Lease negotiations
What is the Role of the Appraiser? The role of the appraiser is to provide objective, impartial, and unbiased opinions about the value of real property—providing assistance to those who own, manage, sell, invest in, and/or lend money on the security of real estate. Appraisers assemble a series of facts, statistics, and other information regarding specific properties, analyze this data, and develop opinions of value. Each appraisal assignment challenges the appraiser’s ability to put analytical skills into practice, exercise sound judgment, and communicate effectively.


Why Get an appraisal? (besides the lender requiring one for a loan):
  1. Pricing a home can be challenging. This is even true for the most seasoned real estate agents (which is why so many work with us.) Each piece of real estate is unique, and that brings a unique set of challenges. Our appraisers are qualified to analyze and appraiser most any type of residential property.
  2. Affordability. ProNorth Appraisal provides a wide variety of different appraisal products that can be tailored to meet each client's needs. Client's wanting to see a detailed analysis of the subject and comparable sales can order our standard Appraisal Report. We can often provide a limited use appraisal with less detail for a reduced fee. We ususally can offer rush services for an increased fee.
  3. You may wonder, is it a good idea to sell right now? Why go through the painstaking process of selling if your bottom line isn't going to be met? Order an appraisal early on before making any agonizing decisions. 
  4. Pricing strategy. The most important aspect of a good pricing strategy is to first know your property's market value. From there you'll be able to determine whether you should underprice your property to entice multiple offers, price it at market value, or slightly overprice to ensure there's room for negotiation.
  5. You'll sell it for the highest price possible. FSBO sellers (and sellers in general) have a habit of overpricing their properties. It is nearly impossible to "trick the market" and sell your home for more than it's worth. It's much more likely that overpricing your home will hurt you in the long run. 
  6. Consulting. An appraisal report can often be difficult to understand, with above grade vs below grade calculations, market value vs. construction cost, and market analysis and adjustments. We will take the time to make sure you understand what your are getting.
  7. Proper measurement techniques are vital to pricing your home. Realtors and appraisers often follow different guidelines when measuring square footage, and square footage is often the most important factor influencing your property's value. Have the added benefit of a detailed sketch for your marketing materials.
  8. You'll know what repairs to make. Your appraiser can tell you what repairs will bring the maximum return on investment (ROI), and likewise, what repairs aren't worth making.
  9. We'll provide the After Repair Value (ARV). In addition to providing your home's current, or "as is" value, we can also tell you the value of your home after some planned repairs are made, or hypothetical as-improved value of a new construction project.
  10. You'll have the option to sell it fast. Homes that are priced right sell for more than overpriced homes. When you sell a home fast, you save money on  expenses (such as marketing, taxes, and interest). You'll also have less stress, including fewer open houses, and a generally more positive selling experience.
  11. Market Rent Studies. Considering renting your home as an alternative to selling? We can tell you how much it will rent for.
  12. Piece of mind. How can you put a price on that? If our fee sounds like too much money, think about the potential money you could spend or lose if you forgo this valuable service.

Remember, the inspection we perform at the subject property is only a small part of the appraisal process. Researching comparable sales often can take hours or days, and may involve driving many miles to inspect the exterior of those sales. Development of the report also may take days to complete, especially in rural areas with limited sales data, many unique and complex homes, and often large acreage and / or lake frontage.

**Although we strive to produce this in a timely manner, we will not compromise the integrity of the report and valuation based on an often arbitrary due date / time, so we greatly appreciate your understanding in this matter.

​If you want to speed up the order process, please print this order form and email it to info@pronorthappraisal.com. Thank You!
updated 5-25
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