Appraisal Expert Witness – The Growing Need

A combination of real estate and appraisal sounds weird. Most of you would have heard the word ‘appraisal’ being used as decision maker to determine an individual’s performance in a company. Real estate too has appraisals and the experts who carry out this are known as appraisal expert witness. Real estate appraisal is the only way by which actual prices and the market value of a property can be determined.

There is a growing need of appraiser in the real estate business. All properties are not the same and their market value is set by their location and the area they cover. Unlike stock and shares, which are never appraised. The reason is simple. You will see thousands of shares being traded daily but the same is not true for a real estate.

An appraisal expert in real estate can be used to testify even mortgages fraud. Such frauds generally require identification of the theft. A broker can misinform the seller and the buyer that the property is worth more than what actually it is. This is done to make bigger commission. The role of an expert here would be to testify and accurately check the actual property rate and bring it to the notice of the jury members.

Appraisers can be hired either by sellers, buyers or homeowners. If you are planning to sell your home they help you understand the market and on that basis they generate a perfect price for your home, give a comparison of your house and other similar houses, and guide you on how to justify your price list in front of the buyer. If you are a buyer an appraiser can help you determine the accuracy of the property rate given to you by the seller. Along with that he also provides you with the actual sale price of other homes in the neighbourhood. Above all they can help you choose your dream home in case you have overlooked it.

Like any other expert witness finding a good and experienced appraiser is very difficult task. If you already had a good experience with a property appraiser in some scenario, it doesn’t mean that the same appraiser can be hired blindly for other property related disputes.  Various types of experts are available for various property disputes.  Whether you are buying or selling a property remember to consult an appraiser for a hassle free deal as they may be a great fit as an appraisal expert witness.

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