Get matched with top property appraisers in Coon Rapids, MN

Some appraisers hold a Member of the Appraisal Institute designation. This accolade is the highest credential property appraisers can earn. An MAI appraisal is typically used for commercial properties.

While your lender will likely recommend an appraiser, you can also hire a professional home appraiser on your own. Choose someone who is experienced in your type of residential property, and ensure they hold all of the necessary credentials that your state or region requires.

Appraisals can come in above or below the list price or offer price for a property, and where it falls depends on many factors. Those include the condition of the property, the location, and the age of the home, but often, the condition of the market is the biggest determining factor. Where demand is high for properties, buyers compete with each other for homes, which tends to drive up offer prices above where appraisals come in. Where demand is low, you’ll often see the opposite happening.

Basement bedrooms can count toward your room count and the square footage of your home on an appraisal if they’re fully legal, which means they have proper ventilation and points of egress, as defined by your local building code. Simply partitioning off a space for a bedroom in an otherwise unfinished basement that isn’t a legal living space won’t affect your appraisal value.

As a seller, it might feel tempting to skip the appraisal, especially in a hot market that sees a lot of all-cash offers. While you can technically forgo it and hope for an all-cash offer, you’ll likely have a very tough time selling without an appraisal. 

In addition to protecting lenders from risk, appraisals also protect buyers’ investments. As such, it isn’t typically recommended for buyers to skip appraisals.