August 17, 2010

Below are several excerpts from a recently published AOL Real Estate Guide for which one of our appraisers was interviewed:

"Basically, an appraisal is an "opinion of value," according to Kevin Donegan, an appraiser with Appraisal Source in Floral Park, N.Y. Don't let the word "opinion" scare you. "An appraiser's job is to remain independent and develop on opinion based solely on factual market data," Donegan says."

Prepare for the appraisal

Once you've scheduled an appraisal, it's time to get your home in order for the process. It's tempting for a seller to fret and frantically make sure the home is spotless in order to win the favor and high appraisal value of an appraiser, but that's not really the right way to approach this. While it can't hurt for a home to be in tip-top shape when the appraiser comes, the main concern should just be to ensure that the appraiser has access to every part of the house. "This may seem like common sense, but every appraiser has had many, many experiences of arriving at a property only to find that some portion of it was inaccessible at the time of inspection," says Donegan.

The appraiser's opinion of value technically won't depend on the quality of furnishings in the home or how much dust is visible, but Donegan notes that appraisers are humans, too, and are affected by many factors. "Bottom line, you don't have to go on a cleaning spree to get ready for an appraiser's visit, but there's also no reason for you to make it more difficult for them to see your home's physical attributes. Practically speaking, if your house is what you might consider 'a bit of a mess,' at least make sure there is room for the appraiser to move through the dwelling -- from room to room and floor to floor."

AOL Real Estate Guide
August 17, 2010

Read the full article here

March 20, 2010

Below is an excerpt from a New York Times article in which one of our appraisers was recently quoted:

"City records, and an independent real estate appraiser contacted by The New York Times, suggest the house was worth more than $1 million at the time he bought it.

"At $830,000, anyway you slice it, it was substantially below market," said the appraiser, Kevin Donegan from Appraisal Source in Floral Park, N.Y., who examined photographs of the house, records from comparable sales in the neighborhood and city records. "He appears to have gotten a very, very good deal."

The New York Times
March 20,2010

Read the full article here