appraising property

I know of who wants to sell property by themselves without having to get the property appraised. Was wondering can that be done? It is part of an estate. They want to save as much money as possible for the beneficiaries ot have more. Was just wondering.

Thanks.

Judy

Yes, it's possible but in doing so, you (the beneficiaries/administrator) could conceivably be selling the estate significantly under market. If a prospective buyer is financing the loan, their bank/lending institution will typically require their own appraisal (buyer's cost, usually); if a cash sale, the contract could also specify your buyer will pay it at closing. The asking price could conceivably also be increased the few hundred dollars of the appraisal as well, as long as the appraisal supports it. There are any one of a number of alternatives available but personally, I wouldn't recommend proceeding without it. That's only one of several typical seller expenses that can affect that "bottom line" you mentioned and personally, I wouldn't proceed without one.

A good "free" place to start is with a realtor. A realtor, even if you do not list the home for sale with them, can give you a market analysis of what comparable homes in the area sold for. This is precisely how sellers know how to price their home---they don't pay for an appraisal before listing their home. They get a market analysis done ( free ) and the appraisal is done by the bank (buyer) doing the buying if financing is obtained.

I would advise you get a market analysis done. I recently purchased a home and the offer I made on it was nearly 95K below appraisal. The seller (an out-of-town investor) didn't know any differently, and accepted the price I offered. I closed on the house and immediately gained nearly a hundred thousand in equity instantly on a beautiful house situated on a private lake--all for doing a bit of homework.

If you are trying to save money, get the market analysis done. It should provide you with a great starting place. Had my seller done that, he would have made a significant amount of money. Fortunately for me, he did not.

FYI: A real estate market analysis differs from a standard residential appraisal report in that the data provided is not a necessarily accurate reflection of true market, from a lending point of view, and not prepared by a licensed appraiser in most cases. If your purchaser requires financing, any valuation determination will be made from the lender's appraisal (not analysis) and regardless of your asking price or feeling your property should be worth more, the maximum value the lender will consider. That in turn will affect how much your buyer can finance and could conceivably kill the sale. In other words, you get what you pay for.

The choice, of course, is yours. Good luck.

I definitely agree with this. Banks and other institutional lenders will pretty much always require an appraisal of the property.

If you really want to save money on a sale, not getting an appraisal is probably not the best method. Selling without the assistance of a real estate agent will potentially save you more money.