ABC Appraisal Service's appraisal checklist

	To appraise a property, an appraiser needs to be licensed by the state when it's a federally related transaction. Contact us if you have any questions about the appraisal process.

To aid the appraisal process, it's recommended to have these documents ready for the appraiser:

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

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

• Information on any written private agreements, such as a shared driveway with a neighbor.

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

• Any paperwork, 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, septic systems and your well.

• Brag sheet that lists major home improvements and enhancements, the amount of their purchase and date of their installation (for example, the addition of energy efficiency upgrades or roof repairs) and permit confirmation (if available).

• A copy of the current listing agreement with broker's data sheet and purchase agreement if a sale is "pending".

• Any "Homeowners Associations" agreements or, if applicable, condo agreements or fees.

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

When the appraiser arrives, you do not need to accompany them along on the entire site inspection, but generally you'll want to be available to answer inquiries about your property and be willing to point out any home improvements.

Here are some other tips:

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

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

• Maintenance: We generally recommend 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 additional things that should be done before they come. Some things they may recommend might be: having smoke detectors on every floor of the home and especially near bedrooms, scraping and repainting where there's paint peeling, repairing any faucets that leak or drip, fixing broken windows or other glass like doors.