Homefront Appraisals's appraisal to-do list

	To appraise a property, an appraiser is required to be licensed by the state when the transaction involves any federal financial regulatory agency such as Fannie Mae, FDIC, etc. Just give us a call at 586-350-4709 if you have any questions about the appraisal process.

To speed up the appraisal process, it's helpful to have these documents ready for the appraiser:

• A plot plan or survey of the house and land (if readily available).

• Any information on the purchase of the property for the last three years.

• Written property agreements, such as a maintenance easement for a shared driveway.

• List of personal property to be sold with the building.

• Any documents, such as a title policy with information on encroachments or easements encroachments or easements.

• Most recent real estate tax bill and or legal description of the property.

• Any inspection reports, or other recent reports for termites, EIFS (synthetic stucco) wall systems, your septic system and your well.

• A list of any major home improvements and upgrades, the amount of their purchase and date of their installation (for example, the addition of central air conditioning or roof repairs) and permit confirmation (if available).

• Locate copies of the current listing agreement, broker's data sheet and, in the event of a pending sale.

• Information on "Homeowners Associations" or condominium covenants and fees.

• A list of "proposed" improvements if the property is to be appraised "as complete".

Once your appraiser has arrived, you do not need to escort him or her along on the entire site inspection, but generally you'll want to be present to answer questions about your property and identify any home improvements.

Here are a few other helpful tips:

• Accessibility: Appraisers are very thorough in their inspections. We recommend that all areas of the home are accessible, especially the attic and crawl space.

• Housekeeping: Appraisers see quite a few of homes a year and are no strangers to clutter, but they're human beings too! A good impact can mean a better home value.

• Maintenance: We often suggest fixing small things like leaky faucets, missing door handles and trim.

• FHA and VA Inspection Items: In the case of your borrower trying to apply for either an FHA or VA loan, we strongly recommend to ask your appraiser if there are specific things that should be done before they arrive. Some things they may recommend might be: having a banister on all stairways, scraping and repainting where there's paint peeling, fixing leaky or dripping faucets, fixing broken windows or other glass like doors.