General Info

ou have found a dream home. The asking price is $350,000, which has already been approved by your lender. But is your home really worth the valuation? This is the question which is at the heart of home appraisal. The real value or worth of the property would determine how much your lender is willing to give you for buying that property.Here at Sloane Appraisal Services LLC, we have extensive experience in appraising homes in Philadelphia. Home appraisal is the most important thing to be done before you get your financing. Its the expert opinion of a licensed or certified professional who determines the value of the property. Simply put, does your home really cost $350,000 or is $275,000 a more realistic price? Besides, a home appraisal protects your lender from getting stuck with a property which is worth much less than they lent to the buyer. It protects you, the buyer, from paying more for a home simply because you loved it at first sight. A home appraisal takes the emotional experience of buying a house and reduces it to a no-nonsense evaluation of a property.How It WorksThere are two basic appraisal methods for residential properties: sales comparison approach and cost approach. In the former, the appraiser compares the property in question with a few other homes of similar specifications that were recently sold in the area. The analysis involves specific components like square feet, lot size, finished or unfinished space, age and style of the home as well as other features like fireplace and garage.The cost approach, on the other hand, is used more for determining the value of new property and based on reproduction costs. Here, the home appraisal company estimates the cost of replacing the structure if it were destroyed. The company then factors in the value of land and the depreciation for determining the real value of the property.The Appraisal ReportThe appraiser collects information to make the report from several sources. The process usually begins with a