Can Anyone Order an Appraisal Or Is Appraisal Ordering Restricted?
Can You Order an Appraisal on this home? If it's your home, you can order an appraisal to determine the market value of the property.
In short, no. In reality, sometimes. Depending on what you need the appraisal for, you may be able to order an appraisal for your property.
Lenders Order Appraisals For Loans, But You Can, Too
The basic rules of appraisal ordering:
- Anyone can order an appraisal on their own home for any reason, from a licensed appraiser.
- If the appraisal is for the purposes of re-financing, or purchasing a home, the appraisal needs to be ordered by the lender, to be accepted by the lender. You may never even get a copy.
- Realtors can order appraisals, with their client’s consent, to help properly list the property at a price that is close to market value (to help it sell faster!).
- Attorneys can order appraisals for clients. This often happens for an estate appraisal, or when the attorney’s client is getting divorced, and an appraisal needs to be ordered to determine the market value for the divorce paperwork.
- For PMI removal, check with your lender to see if they have any sticky rules about appraisal ordering (they shouldn’t, but better to know for sure!). You may need to get your home appraised to see if it qualifies for removing the PMI.
- You can order an appraisal on your own when you want to protest your property taxes and need solid information about the value of your home.
- And so on.
Things to Remember When Ordering an Appraisal
- Make sure the appraiser knows the area well. You do not want to order an appraisal from someone who doesn’t do a lot of appraisals in your area because they won’t understand the local market as well as someone with more experience.
- Make sure that everyone that will need to receive a copy is listed as as an intended audience so that they can get a copy of the completed appraisal.
- Make sure you know what to expect, and how to prepare for the appraisal inspection.
- Read our page about Appraisal IQ so you know what to expect from our service.
- Read our FAQ.
- Ask, Ask, Ask.
