One of the most common questions that we get asked is “How long does an appraisal take?” This question can be looked at one of two ways. Are you wanting to know how long an appraiser will be in your home inspecting the property? Or are you asking how long will the entire appraisal process take before you receive your appraisal report? Well we can help answer both of those questions for you.
It’s understandable that you would want to know how long an appraisal will take. Knowing what your home is worth is very important when trying to sell your home. It can be even more stressful when you wait until the negotiation process to have your home appraised. If your home appraisal comes in lower than you expected it can cause issues during the negotiation process and can even cause a homebuyer to pull their offer.
How Long Does an Appraisal Property Visit Take?
The very beginning of the home appraisal process is going to be the examination of the property otherwise known as the property visit. The appraiser will start with exploring around the outside of the property, taking pictures and examining the outer condition of the home as well as the yard. This is the same time that your appraiser will start looking at any sheds or outdoor living space that the home may have.
Then we will enter the home and begin to look around and take pictures of the inside of the home. For obvious reasons the appraiser needs to be able to access every room as well as any storage areas and will be taking pictures of all of it for later reference.
The property visit is difficult to determine as far as how long the appraisal will take because it is all based on the size and detail of the property. Smaller homes with less square footage and little to no outdoor space are usually very quick to examine. A small home can take as little as 20 minutes for an appraiser to properly examine.
Larger homes with many bedrooms, bathrooms, storage areas, as well as intricate outdoor living areas, pools, and things of that nature can take much longer to properly examine. Some homes are so large and have such vast amounts of land that it can take up to 3 hours to conduct a property visit.
Appraisal Safety Precautions
With the current health crisis in the United States, here at RE Appraisals, we take the health and safety of our clients and our team members seriously. We understand that social distancing is an important part of staying safe, however, life and business still needs to continue on a daily basis. So to ensure the safety and security of our clients and our team we are offering a couple of different options.
Online Appraisals
Our team offers the ability to conduct online appraisals for our clients and we actually recommend online appraisals for anyone who is at high risk. However, virtual appraisals are actually a great option for everyone to use. They can be conducted safely without an appraiser ever needing to step foot inside your home. We can do a walk through of your home virtually over a video call.
Then all we need you to do is simply take pictures around your home and send them to us virtually. That means that we will not show up to your property to conduct the appraisal which not only helps to keep you safe but makes the appraisal process quick and easy.
In-Home Appraisals
RE Appraisals is still conducting regular in-home appraisals and setting up times for property visits. We are taking precautions in order to make sure that our clients as well as our staff remain safe during the COVID-19 heath crisis.
First, we please ask that if any of our clients are showing possible symptoms that they reschedule their appointment. If anyone on our appraisal team is showing any possible symptoms of illness they will not be permitted to go to the office or any clients’ homes for a property visit.
When conducting an in-home appraisal we will make sure to wear a face mask at all times and we ask if the client can also wear a face covering out of courtesy for our dedicated appraisal staff. We also ask if our clients can sanitize their counters and some of the other surfaces in their homes such as handles to please do so.
How Long Does an Appraisal Report Take to Get Back?
An appraisal report is a detailed description on the current fair market value of your home as valued by the opinion of an appraiser. We understand that waiting for your appraisal report to come back can be very stressful. Roughly, an appraisal can take anywhere from a few days to a week to come back from other appraisal agencies.
But waiting that long can be nerve wracking especially if the sale of your home is contingent on the appraisal value (which is almost always the case). Many homeowners worry that if an appraisal comes in lower than what they originally anticipated, that it can cause the prospective homebuyer to pull their offer and potentially walk away from the sale completely.
That is why, here at RE Appraisals Associates, we will complete your appraisal in just 2 days to help reduce the stress and anticipation of waiting for your appraisal report.
We also recommend our clients have an appraisal done before they put their home on the market. This will help you to get a better idea of what to list the home for and will leave you with less of a margin for error.
Here at R.E. Appraisal Associates of SWFL, Inc we care about our clients and their home selling and buying experience. If you need a home appraisal our excellent staff will help you with a quick and accurate appraisal either in-home or online. To learn more about how long an appraisal will take and what our team can do for you give us a call today at 941-743-3700.
