Sound Blog

Sincerely,
O.H. ~ California"

"Zillow says my house is worth.....". "I saw online that I could get......". "The AVM states the property is worth...". These are just a few things we hear on a daily basis. It is not that there is no credible information out there, but it is certainly not readily available to most homeowners. I would advise: don't believe everything you hear or see when it comes to the value of your home. If it was as easy as typing in you zip code on a website and getting an instant value of your home, there would be a lot of appraisers out of work.

More advice: a real estate appraiser is qualified to render an opinion of value for a given property. We are educated in the field of real estate. We abide by certain guidelines. We obtain and maintain our licensing through New York State. We must be knowledeable about each area we are appraising homes. In essence, we are accountable. We must be able to explain and defend our appraisals. We must be able to define how we developed the appraisal, and ultimately how we arrived at a particular value.

I ask you this: do these online sites have to provide you with any explanations? Do they maintain a license to appraise real estate? Are they accountable to anyone?

The simple answer is: NO. Don't rely on third party sources to try to figure out what you house is worth. Don't trust everything you hear and read when it comes to home values. Trust a licensed real estate appraiser.

Afterall, online research would not be a substitute for going to the doctor, obtaining legal advice, or even financial advice. You would see a professional in one of these specific areas.

The below article is listed on the The Appraisal Institute's website.

Zillow: Homeowners Demonstrate False Sense of Confidence in Home Value

A recent survey shows that almost two-thirds of homeowners, 62 percent, believe that the value of their home increased over the previous year, while data shows that only 19 percent of U.S. homes appreciated in value over the past year, and that 77 percent depreciated. The disconnect between fact and opinion demonstrates that homeowners are out of sync with reality, according to the survey conducted by Zillow.com, a Seattle-based Web site that tracks home values across the country.

You probably hear companies bragging that "customer satisfaction is our #1 priority" each and everyday. From insurance companies, used car salespeople, phone companies, etc. We've heard it all as well.

By doing the right things for our clients, we create satisfied customers. Each client receives individualized attention. No matter how big or small the assignment, we treat people in a professional manner. We take the time to educate our clients, to thoroughly explain the appraisal process to them and how it relates to their situation. Below is an example of "another satisfied client". We completed two appraisal assignments for him. One was for probate/estate purposes and the other was a pre-listing appraisal that was utilized to price the house when selling it.

"I enjoyed meeting you and appreciate your help. Your appraisal really helped me. I used it just as I intended and I expect to have the house under contract on Tuesday of next week. ... So I’m VERY happy! I’m also happy to get the house off my hands.

Without your appraisal I would have priced the house much higher, which means I would have not sold it for a long time and then I’d have to reduce the price of the house anyway and placed the house in the hands of a realtor. And housing prices may well fall further. So thank you!

The appraisal reports look good to me---nice work!

N.K. ~ North Carolina"

It's a new slogan we've adopted. After receiving call after call from mortgage brokers and clients who "need help" due a slew of appraiser/appraisal related circumstances, we decided that "Our appraisals won't leave you crying" was appropriate. With Sound Valuation, long gone are your frantic days needing assistance from your appraiser who is vacationing in Cancun. Say goodbye to your appraiser who is trying to run a one man show and can't schedule your "rush" jobs until next week. Never again will you call repeatedly only to get your appraiser's voicemail for the 10th time in an hour. We are here for our clients. We've got things covered for you. We'll take care of your appraisal needs.....promptly.

We are a medium sized firm. Not a one man shop working from a home office, and not a huge office that lacks in providing its clients with individualized attention. We are right in the middle. Able to service our appraisal coverage areas adequately and efficiently. Able to complete appraisals within 24 - 48 hours from the time of inspection. Able to attend to our clients needs. Able to communicate with each of our clients in an idividualized manner.

We operate out of professional office space, with a real and legal business address. Not our living room or our basment.....never working in front of a TV and never completing our appraisals while the kids are laughing, yelling and playing right there besides us. You have our 100% attention when we are working to complete your appraisals. Our work atmosphere is professional, just like our appraisers. Our clients deserve prefessional, dedicated and competent appraisers. It's how we are able to produce reliable appraisal reports faster than our competitors.

Remember, our appraisals won't leave you crying.