I wanted to share a photo with you that I took recently of a home I was appraising. It was for an FHA appraisal of an older house built prior to 1978. You may wonder why the year 1978 is so important, so I will tell you. It was in 1978 that lead paint was [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Appraisal Tips'
How NOT to dispose of peeling paint for an FHA appraisal
May 9th, 2012 by Tom Horn · No Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips, Photos From The Field
Tags:Birmingham AL FHA Appraiser·chipping paint·FHA Appraisals·FHA Appraiser·FHA Loans·FHA repairs·FHA Requirements·FHA Tips·Lead Paint·peeling paint
Hey, why didn’t the appraiser include my basement in this appraisal?
April 9th, 2012 by Tom Horn · No Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips, FAQ's
I got a phone call out of the blue last week from a person who had recently had their home appraised for a refinance loan. The bank had given him a copy of the home appraisal, and after looking at it wondered why the appraiser had not included his fully finished basement. He wanted to [...]
Tags:Alabama Appraiser·appraisal form·basement·basement appraisal·birmingham alabama appraiser·how is a basement appraised·how to read an appraisal·reading an appraisal·Real Estate Appraisal
I’m participating in a Birmingham, AL home selling seminar this month
April 6th, 2012 by Tom Horn · 2 Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips, Education
I just wanted to share with you that I have been asked to participate in a home selling seminar this month in the Birmingham, AL area. Terry Crutchfield with RE/Max Advantage is putting it on and has asked me to talk about recent market trends in the Birmingham, AL area and the latest in appraisal [...]
Tags:Birmingham AL market trends·birmingham appraiser·home seller·home selling·home selling advice·Home selling tips·seller seminar·selling siminar·Terry Crutchfield·TJC Mortgage·Tom Horn
What’s the value of a pool in my neighborhood?
April 4th, 2012 by Tom Horn · No Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips, FAQ's, Home Improvement
This is a question you may have asked yourself at some point. Have you ever dreamed of having one built but don’t know it’s value in your area? Every neighborhood is different, and some areas will give you a bigger return on your investment than others. Swimming pools are always used by appraisers as examples [...]
Tags:Alabama Appraiser·birmingham alabama appraiser·home improvement·how much value does a pool add·jefferson county appraiser·pool·pool value·shelby county appraiser·swimming pool·Thomas Horn·Tom Horn·value·what's a pool worth
FHA rules for termite inspections
March 5th, 2012 by Tom Horn · 4 Comments · Appraisal Tips, FAQ's
If you have ever bought or sold real estate with FHA financing you know that HUD/FHA loans are a little different than conventional loans. In an effort to keep everyone updated I thought I would share some information HUD/FHA provided recently. FHA does not automatically require inspections to be made on all loans, however several [...]
Tags:appraisal guidelines·FHA·fha appraisal guidelines·fha rules·pest·pest inspection·termite inspection
Photos from the field- FHA repair item or not?
February 27th, 2012 by Tom Horn · 3 Comments · Appraisal Tips, FAQ's, Photos From The Field, Realtor Tips
On one of my inspections recently I came across this empty pool. The house I was appraising was not using FHA financing, however because FHA typically has more stringent requirements about the condition of a property I thought I might share the picture with you and ask a couple of questions: Do you think this [...]
Tags:empty pool·FHA repairs·FHA Requirements·MPR·pool·pool repair·swimming pool·vinyl liner pools
10 reasons NOT to get a pre-listing appraisal
February 8th, 2012 by Tom Horn · 10 Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips, FSBO Tips, Realtor Tips
1. It costs too much money- Really? If you think about the fact that by pricing the home correctly you could cut the marketing time down and reduce marketing costs, this becomes a no brainer. In addition, the modest cost would probably not exceed future price reductions that you may need because it was priced [...]
Tags:Appraisal·Appraiser·CMA·fsbo·home value·house value·market analysis·marketing appraisals·pre-listing appraisal·Pre-Listing Appraisals in Birmingham·property value·Thomas Horn·Tom Horn·value estimate
Appraising In The Aftermath Of A Tornado-Birmingham, Alabama
January 30th, 2012 by Tom Horn · 4 Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips, FAQ's
How do you appraise a home that has been destroyed in a tornado? That is the question I got from a friend recently after I told him I had gotten some assignments in the storm devastated areas of Birmingham, Alabama. I thought that since he was curious about this that others may be also. I [...]
Tags:Alabama·Birmingham·disaster·insurance·insurance appraisal·retrospective·retrospective appraisal·storm·Thomas Horn·Tom Horn·tornado
Are these FHA required repairs?
January 20th, 2012 by Tom Horn · No Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips, Education, FAQ's, FSBO Tips, Home Improvement, Realtor Tips
I was doing some work recently for a novice property investor and he was asking me some questions about FHA required repairs. He wanted to prepare the house he just purchased so that if the buyers were going to use FHA financing there wouldn’t be any issues at the last minute to hold up the [...]
Tags:Birmingham AL FHA Appraiser·fha appraisal·fha appraisal guidelines·FHA Loans·FHA repairs·FHA Requirements·FHA Tips·MPR
Birmingham, Alabama Cash Buyers: Don’t Make This Mistake
January 11th, 2012 by Tom Horn · 6 Comments · Appraisal, Appraisal Tips
After seeing an article about how cash buyers have made a strong showing in residential real estate transactions I started wondering how many of them got appraisals on their purchases. Most of the time people think the only reason to get an appraisal is so you can borrow money from the bank. This is only [...]
Tags:birmingham alabama home values·cash sale appraisal·cash sales·homes purchased with cash·investment appraisal·over priced homes·real estate investment
