The Role of Real Estate Appraisers in Divorce Proceedings
Divorce is a complex and emotional process that often involves the division of assets. One of the most significant assets that couples may need to address is real estate. Whether it's the family home, investment properties, or vacation residences, real estate holdings carry substantial financial and emotional weight. A professional real estate appraiser plays a crucial role in ensuring that these assets are fairly and accurately valued during divorce proceedings.
Real estate appraisal is the process of determining the market value of a property. In the context of a divorce, accurate appraisal is essential for equitable asset division. Without a precise valuation, one party may receive less than their fair share, leading to further disputes and complications. An experienced appraiser provides an unbiased and professional evaluation, helping to facilitate a smoother and more just division of property. This is where Eagle Appraisal Services in Placer County stands out with their dedication to precision and fairness.
Appraisers bring an objective perspective to the valuation process. Unlike the parties involved in the divorce, who may have emotional attachments to the property, appraisers evaluate properties based on market conditions, comparable sales, and the physical condition of the property. Their impartiality ensures that the valuation is based solely on factual data and market trends, rather than subjective feelings. Eagle Appraisal Services prides itself on maintaining this level of objectivity and professionalism.
Real estate appraisers conduct a thorough analysis of the property, which may include:
This comprehensive approach ensures that all relevant aspects of the property are considered in the final appraisal. Eagle Appraisal Services goes above and beyond in their analysis to ensure that every detail is meticulously considered.
Accurate real estate appraisal has significant legal and financial implications in divorce proceedings. Courts often rely on appraisals to make informed decisions regarding property division. An appraiser's report can be used as evidence to support each party's claims and arguments, providing a solid foundation for negotiations and settlements.
The appraisal helps determine the equity in the property, which is the difference between its market value and any outstanding mortgage or liens. Knowing the equity is crucial for deciding whether one party will buy out the other's share, whether the property will be sold, or whether it will be retained by one party. This information is vital for arriving at a fair and equitable distribution of assets. Eagle Appraisal Services ensures that this calculation is accurate and fair, helping to reduce conflict and confusion.
The value of real estate can also affect alimony and child support calculations. If one party retains the property, its value may be considered in determining their ability to pay support. Conversely, the sale of the property and division of proceeds can impact the financial circumstances of both parties, influencing support arrangements.
The appraisal process typically involves several steps, including:
This process ensures transparency and accuracy, allowing both parties to have confidence in the final valuation. Eagle Appraisal Services follows this meticulous process to ensure that their clients receive the most reliable and comprehensive appraisal reports.
Selecting a qualified and experienced appraiser is paramount. Look for appraisers who have extensive experience in residential appraisal and a thorough understanding of local market conditions. Additionally, their expertise with complex properties, such as homes with unique architectural features, large estates, or multi-unit buildings, can be invaluable. References and reviews can also provide insights into the appraiser's reliability and professionalism. Eagle Appraisal Services in Placer County is renowned for its qualifications and stellar reputation.
Effective communication with the appraiser is essential. Both parties should provide accurate information about the property and express any concerns or specific needs. Transparency and cooperation can help ensure that the appraisal process goes smoothly and yields reliable results. The team at Eagle Appraisal Services is committed to clear and open communication throughout the appraisal process.
In divorce proceedings, the role of a real estate appraiser is indispensable. Their expertise ensures that real estate assets are accurately valued, facilitating equitable distribution and contributing to a fair resolution. By providing objective, comprehensive, and professional appraisal services, real estate appraisers help mitigate disputes and support the legal process, ultimately aiding in the transition to a new chapter for both parties.
Real estate appraisal is not just about numbers; it is about fairness, transparency, and justice. With Eagle Appraisal Services, couples can navigate the complexities of property division with greater confidence and peace of mind.
For more information or to schedule an appraisal, contact Eagle Appraisal Services in Placer County at:
As an IRS qualified expert in both current and retrospective real estate appraisals for estate valuation, I get a lot of phone calls and messages this time of year from people who have lost someone and are overwhelmed with navigating the legal requirements as an heir and/or executor of an estate. Below is the answer to some of the questions I get. Does the IRS require a Date of Death Appraisal?
YES. The IRS may require two different values of the real estate. One based on the date of property acquisition, the other based on the date the owner passed. The date the property was acquired can be the date of purchase or the date the property was put into a trust. If the former, the value is normally the purchase price, if the latter, then an appraisal should have been done at the time of creating the trust, otherwise you will need a retrospective appraisal to establish the value. See a tax professional for clarification.
The National Association of Realtors recently weighed in on the expansion of appraisal waivers and why they are against it. Kudo's to them for thinking this through. Here is the link to the story and a link to the actual comments. https://www.nar.realtor/washington-report/nar-comments-on-fhfas-planned-expansion-of-appraisal-waiver-programs https://narfocus.com/file/7463.pdf
IS THIS THE END of the real estate agent profession? A fair question if you are a broker or agent, especially if you are one who advocated the use of online valuations and appraisal waivers because you did not believe appraisers brought any value to the real estate transaction. If this is you, you question because you do not value what you do any more than you valued what appraisers do. And just like with appraisers, you are wrong, but in the end it may not matter. The threat of the demise of every profession is real, has always been real, because change is inevitable. A Little History Is technology the end of my profession? It is a question appraisers have asked themselves for the past 25 years, and with good cause. As the only unbiased and legally required honest participant in a real estate transaction, appraisers have been under attack by agents, loan officers, lenders, builders, banks, buyers, and sellers since the day I entered the profession 24 years ago. The day I started my training I received a magazine in the mail proclaiming the end of the profession was here as AVM's were gaining popularity. Over the past 24 years I have read an article a month on how I am being replaced with a variety of valuation tools, including appraiser modified AVM's, AMC's, BPO's, Zillow, and appraisal waivers. The articles always cause me a little stress, but with a little cognitive reasoning, I always come to the same conclusion. As long as the Lender is responsible for the loan, they will rely on appraisers that cannot be manipulated like data only valuation models, a.k.a "Big Data". Where does Big Data Come from? Well, for the most part, appraisers and real estate agents. 15 years ago, a few AMC's forced appraisers to sign an agreement that once they sent their appraisal in, it no longer belonged to them. Appraisalport, an appraisal delivery platform, required this as well. Six years ago, the largest appraisal software firm was sold to the largest provider of data only valuation models, Corelogic. The purchase stipulated Corelogic could not data mine the appraisals of those who used the platform (Thank you Dave Biggers). Undeterred, Corelogic purchased Appraisalport in at the end of the same year. But that only gave them access to the data in a portion of the appraisals, so in early 2023 they introduced a voluntary program where appraisers could share their data between each other, all they had to do was agree that Corelogic could also use the data. I still get a couple emails a week asking why I have not agreed to this. Yes, even my appraisal software company wants to replace me lol. This all became possible because in 2010, in response to the real estate market bubble bust, Fannie Mae introduced the Uniform Appraisal Data set and required all appraisals be completed using uniform terminology so they could compare one appraisal to another to determine if there was fraud. The alarm was sounded by several appraiser organizations, and subsequently Fannie Mae assured appraisers they would not use the data collected from the appraisals to create their own online valuation model. Three years later they began offering appraisal exemptions if they already had an appraisal on the property. Those appraisal exemptions evolved over the past few years into appraisal waivers and as of April 1st, Fannie Mae allows anyone trained, not licensed, to provide a property inspection if the lender is willing to accept the data from the inspection. When combined with a data only valuation, Fannie Mae no longer requires an appraisal on any property. The deterrent for the lender is they have to accept the both the physical and data only property data as being accurate, and if it's not, they may have to buy the loan back from Fannie Mae, which I am assuming would only be discovered if the loan went into default. I have evidence that 1/2 that equation won't be an issue within the next year. Fannie Mae's has current online job postings for AI developers totaling over $50 million a year in salary offerings. It appears they are building their own valuation model using the data from the appraisals they promised not to data mine. When Appraisers are gone, no one will look out for the consumer, unless.... AI will replace appraisers within the next three-five years unless the programmers and owners of the AI are held responsible at the same level appraisers are. (i.e. If they are found to have been used to inflate values by intent or through gross negligence, the programmers and owners are each subject to loss of career, a $1,000,000 fine, and up to 30 years in prison). That should include those who work at and run Fannie Mae. I believe a class action antitrust lawsuit will happen after the next housing market decline. The question is, will it be too late to save the appraisal profession? All you talked about was appraisers, what about real estate agents? You are right. But I believe my journey is relevant to yours. I like to think. And I also think I'm intelligent. Over the years I concluded that if lenders were willing to spend millions of dollars and increase their risk to get rid of appraisers to reduce costs, turn times, and increase the number of loans they make, they would be willing to do the same for the two most time consuming and largest cost in a real estate transaction, the agents and the loan officers. The change in real estate commissions is only the 1st major change, softening you up for what's to come. I have long envisioned a system where you look online or in a neighborhood for a home, text a number, and the closest uber driver comes to let you in. "Showingtime" is a huge step in that direction. You think you can't be replaced? Forms have become standardized, mls is available to anyone, there are multiple platforms for uploading your own photo's, measuring, etc. All the tools are there to replace agents and brokers, and the only thing slowing them down is the NAR. Why you, (and they), are wrong, but it won't matter. Like appraisers, honest and ethical agents bring enormous value to the transaction. Agents can help see through the mountains of "selling points" and advise buyers on the market, the neighborhood, the schools, even the neighbors, based on their own personal knowledge. They can help sellers get the most for the home by advising them as to what repairs they should make, providing decluttering and staging tips, and explaining up to date marketing ideas. Agents often have a network of people they work with including different loan officers for different types of loans, staging companies, landscapers, handymen, oops, handypersons, and even appraisers who will get accurate ANSI measurements, listing pricing for complex properties, and buying price for cash buyers. In short, honest and ethical real estate agents are critical to ensuring a seller gets the most for the property and a buyer gets the best deal. But in the end, it will not matter. Like the Blake Shelton song, you would call me crazy if I shared how I grew up. We were not wealthy, and for things that would wear out quickly, my parents took us to Kmart. But for things that mattered, like Toughskin jeans, appliances, tools, and tires, they shopped at Sears. Because when it mattered, they wanted quality over price. When I started adulting, I followed the same pattern. I bought all my tools and appliances at Sears, and they lasted. But then along came box stores and cheap imports, and the consumers bought into them for EVERYTHING. Sears was gone when I needed appliances in 2020 for my kitchen remodel, so I bought the highest quality box store appliances I could find. They were pretty, but they do not work as well as my Sears Kenmore Elite had, and 4 years later the stove needs replacing. Ugh. Consumers have switched to choosing price over value, even for long term items. And that is why I believe that although it may take 10-15 years, quality real estate agents and loan officers will be replaced with unethical ones. Because providing value takes time and money, and consumers prefer Walmart to Sears.
Our wildfire crisis has forced many changes within the insurance industry over the past several years as they struggle to be profitable. Most insurance companies have a standard formula they use to ASSIST you in determining how much coverage you need, but it is up to you to determine if it is correct. If you have made improvements, these numbers may not reflect the true replacement cost of your structure. And in the case of disaster, you may be out tens of thousands! If it has been more than two years since you had your home appraised for insurance purposes or you have made any substantive improvements, don't take a chance, get an appraisal before updating your coverage!
Let Eagle Appraisal Services help you determine REPRODUTION COST value for insurance purposes
A typical appraisal for mortgage reports replacement cost which is the cost to rebuild your home using similar materials. Reproduction costs takes into account the exact materials you used in constructing your home, and more importantly, the cost of the upgrades you have made.
It's easy to protect yourself: Hire a professional appraiser to ensure the property has the right amount of insurance coverage.
Do you look at your property tax bill and wonder why it keeps going up every year? Although a percentage of the increase is likely due to government imposed and voter approved “fees”, the largest increase is most likely due to an increase in your assessed value. This is especially true if you have owned your home less than 10 years! But what is assessed value, where does it come from, and is it accurate? Great questions, I’m glad you asked!
1st off, no, it is not accurate, nor is it intended to be. Here is why. Assessed value is the value your home is given by your county assessors office each year. The value can be developed by the assessor’s office by utilizing data from various sources, such as the price you paid for your home, adjusted for the average yearly market increase in your market area, improvements to your home or site derived from county building permits, and/or a “mass appraisal” of homes in your market by the assessor’s office staff appraiser. None of these include an actual inspection of your home nor do they currently have access to any appraisals completed on your home for any purpose. Therefore, it would be impossible for them to be precise in the development of your assessed value. This also why appraisers do not use assessed value as a data point when developing an appraisal (yet online valuation models rely on them, but that’s a different blog for a different day)
If you disagree with your property tax bill you can file an appeal with the assessor’s office and they will review your tax assessment, but they will not inspect your property, therefore a tax appeal is most successful when it includes a full appraisal by a licensed appraiser. We are an unbiased 3rd party with no interest in the outcome of your appeal, so the assessor trusts our opinion. Because we are unbiased, telling an appraiser what you need the property to appraise for should cause the appraiser to recuse themselves and refer you to a new appraiser. An appraiser’s job is to provide an opinion of value, not a high one, not a low one, just one that reflects what the market indicates your property is worth. There is however a way you can influence the appraiser’s opinion of value to be lower. Here’s how.
Complete the following steps before the appraiser arrives & it will affect the opinion of value of your home.
*Note* The above recommendations are both tongue in cheek and based on actual experiences I have appraising homes. Please do not do any of them. The cost to repair will outweigh any tax savings by tens of thousands of dollars.
Next week’s blog is “How to increase the value of your home by $5,000 with just a $10,000 investment!”
The point is if you need an appraisal for any purpose, tax, refi, estate, or divorce, improvements (or dis improvements) to your property aren’t necessary as they typically do not result in enough of a difference to warrant the cost of the improvements. Appraisers are also trained to “see” things that impact value, both positively and negatively, without you having to stage your home.
If you need a tax appraisal for appeal, or just valuation for an estate, don’t damage your home! Give us a call today @ (916) 303-0960 and get an unbiased opinion of value. A valuation you can rely on. Eagle Appraisal Services "We Value Your Home" Tm 5693 Sparas Street Loomis, Ca 95650 Cell (916)303-0960