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Acme Appraisal Company is a professional residential appraisal firm located in Des Moines, Iowa. We proudly serve Central Iowa and are locally owned and operated. Our firm is dedicated to providing quality appraisal services to banks, credit unions and mortgage companies, while maintaining a high level of integrity and confidentiality. FAQ’s
The assessment on my property is $95,000. Does that mean that my property is worth $95,000? Not necessarily. The county assessor’s office will assess your property for tax purposes. Appraisers appraise your property at market value. Many assessors employ a method of mass appraising and values are not always precise. These assessment values can vary greatly from the actual market value. In a perfect world the assessment would correctly reflect a property’s actual market value, but as these county offices are usually understaffed, the mass appraising method becomes critical in determining assessments. By law in Iowa, property owners have the right to contest their assessment within a certain time frame. We suggest that if a property owner does not feel that the assessment value is realistic, to hire a professional appraiser to determine its actual value.
No, probably not. Improvements make the property more appealing, but how much more is someone willing to spend for a property that has a deck as opposed to one that doesn’t? How about a new roof or furnace? These are both items with a limited lifespan. The new roof and new furnace are appealing to potential buyers, but will not necessarily make the property worth $1 more for every $1 spent. Pools are amenities that don’t always bring extra value to a property, and in fact sometimes lowers the value. In our local climate, a pool can only be used a few months out of the year, the maintenance costs are high as are the liability costs. Some property buyers will buy a property, deducting the cost of removing the pool if the do not want it. In other areas pools are common and extra value for the pool is then justified. I was unhappy with the opinion of value which the appraiser came up with. Do I still have to pay for the appraisal report? Yes, absolutely. An appraiser is bound to develop an opinion of value based on facts. An appraiser has a duty to report the truth. To do otherwise is not only misleading but also fraud. A predetermined value cannot be considered under any circumstance and payment of the appraisal fee is never contingent on the results of the appraisal. Two years ago, I added a patio and finished my basement but I never told the assessor’s office. Will the appraiser tell the assessor? No. The assessor’s office is a government entity and we are a private firm. Our confidential report is given to the party who ordered it only. If a bank ordered the appraisal, the appraiser is not allowed to give a copy of the appraisal to property owner. We have owned our house for 4 years. We still pay PMI with our mortgage. Shouldn’t that have been waived since we know we now have more than 20% equity? It is up to the property owner to have the dwelling appraised and have the present value estimated. In order to do so, we caution home owners to contact their mortgage company first and inquire as to what type of appraisal they require and the exact procedures that they insist upon. If you have a question,
you can ask it on our Contact Us page.
If you are looking to schedule an appraisal, visit our House
Appraisal request form. |
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