Birmingham Appraisal Blog » Tom Horn

How Shelby County, AL homeowners can find useful property information online

Tom Horn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:46:32 +0000

I would like to share with homeowners in Shelby County, Alabama how they can find useful property information online. Have you ever wanted to find out exactly how big your lot is? Ever wondered where your house sits on your lot? How about finding out what school system the house you want to buy is in? These are all questions you can find the answers to by going to the Shelby County, Alabama website here- www.shelbyal.com. Take a look at the video below and see what type of information you can get.

Were you able to find any useful information? Do you know of any other websites where homeowners can get helpful information for free?

If you have any real estate appraisal related questions you can call me at 205.243.9304, email me, or connect with me on Facebook., Twitter, or Youtube.

Can I use the tax assessment on my house to set a list price?

Tom Horn — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:09:30 +0000

I was asked this question the other day by a reader of my blog and I thought I would share it with you in case you had the same question. This person was going to list their home for sale and they wanted to know if they could use their tax assessment to come up with an asking price.

Tax assessments are not a good source of information to use when you are trying to come up with a list price. County tax assessors use different methodology when they assess your property because of the shear number of appraisals that they have to do. They use mass appraisal methods which does not take into consideration special features and updates of your home. In addition, the county sometimes have incorrect information regarding your homes square footage. If this is the case then the price per square foot that the county uses will be multiplied by the wrong living area, and this will cause the value of your home to be incorrect.

Something else that may cause the value to be off is the exclusion of recent improvements to your home. If the county information does not reflect recent improvements, for example if you finish off your basement into a recreation room or something similar, then the assessed value will be lower than it should. The only reliable way to get the correct square footage, and eventually the correct value, is to have it measured by an appraiser. The appraiser takes into consideration recent renovations and updates and considers the quality of construction of the home as well. Only by considering all of the features of the home, it’s correct square footage, and condition can you get a true estimate of its value. Have you compared the information the county has on your home with a recent appraisal? Was it correct? Leave me a comment below, I would like to hear from you.

If you have any real estate appraisal related questions you can call me at 205.243.9304, email me, or connect with me on Facebook., Twitter, or Youtube.

Appraising In The Aftermath Of A Tornado-Birmingham, Alabama

Tom Horn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:35:57 +0000

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 hope this post can provide some helpful information to those with questions about how an appraiser might value a home after it is destroyed.

This past week the Birmingham, Alabama area experienced its second major tornado in less than 12 months. The first storm occurred last year on April 27, 2011, and on Monday of last week another major tornado hit in the Pinson, Clay, and Trussville areas of metro Birmingham. When disasters like this occur, insurance companies must determine the property losses suffered by their customers. Appraisers are often hired to estimate the market value of the home just prior to the loss. Because the effective date of the appraisal is made before the day the appraiser actually looked at the property this is called a “retrospective appraisal”. The appraisal is based on the condition the home was in before the storm occurred.

The appraisers major task is collecting information about the house from an on site inspection as well as from speaking with the owner to determine the condition of the property. Recent updates or renovations are taken into consideration and sometimes pictures are provided that shows what features the home had as well as showing the quality and materials of construction.

After all of the physical characteristics of the home have been determined the appraiser can then go about finding comparable sales that match the property as close as possible. Sometimes a long period of time may have passed between the loss and the day the appraiser looks at the property, but comparables must have sold before the date of value (or loss). Other than recreating the physical characteristics and condition of the home the assignment is rather straight forward and similar to a normal appraisal. If I can help answer any other questions you may have, please let me know. Have you ever experienced the loss of your home in disaster? Tell me about your experience.

If you have any real estate appraisal related questions you can call me at 205.243.9304, email me, or connect with me on Facebook., Twitter, or Youtube.

I Can Help Birmingham, AL Realtors With Their Sales Meetings

Tom Horn — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:46:38 +0000

If you are a Realtor in the Birmingham, AL area I would like to help you with your sales meetings by providing appraisal education to your agents. I have spoken in the past at local real estate offices about how to read an appraisal, how we come up with comparables, why we sometimes must use foreclosures as comparables and various other issues. These topics are good for new agents to know as well as those that have been in the business a long time but may still have questions. Contrary to what some believe, agents and appraisers can speak together about certain things.

I can also speak about FHA appraisals and how we look at those properties differently than a conventional purchase. By knowing what appraisers look for the agent can prepare the listing so that follow up trips can be avoided, thereby saving the buyer money and helping the loan close more quickly. HUD has certain guidelines we must follow and I can give you a heads up regarding common problems I have found doing FHA appraisals.

If you think I can help you educate your agents on various aspects of the appraisal process please give me a call, email me or text me. I look forward to connecting with you.

If you have any real estate appraisal related questions you can call me at 205.243.9304, email me, or connect with me on Facebook., Twitter, or Youtube.

I’ve Got A Copy Of My Appraisal, Now How Do I Read It?

Tom Horn — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:59:52 +0000

I received a call from a homeowner the other day about an appraisal I had done on the home they just purchased. They had gotten their copy of the report and was looking over it, but was having a hard time understanding where some information was, as well as what some of the abbreviations stood for. I decided to put together a video to help explain the report because others may have similar questions.

I hope this is helpful. If you have a question about something I did not cover please let me know. I could not cover everything in the video but would be glad to talk to you on the phone to help explain further.

If you have any real estate appraisal related questions you can call me at 205.243.9304, email me, or connect with me on facebook.

No related posts.

Birmingham Alabama MLS Adds Square Foot Option to Listings

Tom Horn — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:48:56 +0000

The Birmingham Alabama MLS (Multiple Listing Service) has recently added an option for Realtors to list GLA (gross living area) for their listings. The new feature will go live on August 2, 2010. Realtors are given an option of entering GLA data obtained from an appraiser, building plans, or tax records.

The first two sources are reliable, however tax records can be tricky in our area. I have found that tax records are most accurate with one level homes that are either on a slab, crawlspace, or that may have some unfinished basement. It is less accurate with homes that have a second story and/or finished area in the basement. These areas are difficult to determine without going into the home. To complicate matters, the county is not notified of some improvements, making their records potentially inaccurate.

If a previous appraisal or plans are not available I suggest the realtor obtain the services of a qualified appraiser to measure their listing so they can present the most accurate information possible. There are standards for measuring homes that have guidelines for what is counted as livable space and what is not. The appraiser you choose should be familiar with these. I offer this service to all Realtors in the Birmingham, Alabama area. The fee is based on the size of the home and in addition to getting the square footage information you also get a floor plan sketch with location of rooms. This sketch can be included in your listing. A more detailed drawing is available for a slightly higher fee if this is desired.

My question to all Realtors is this: would you be interested in getting accurate GLA of your home to provide to your buyers and make your listings stand out by having a sketch of the home? If you have any questions please give me a call at 205-243-9304 and I would be happy to answer them for you.

HVCC One Year Later:Are We Better Off?

Tom Horn — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:15:04 +0000

Well, its been almost one year since HVCC has been in effect (come May 1, 2010 it will be 1 year). The question everybody is asking is: Are we better off? From my own experience as an appraiser I have to say “No”. Since the HVCC was put into motion I have seen average appraisal fees slowly decreasing. I constantly get notices from clients stating that in order for them to be more competitive with others they must lower the costs associated with appraisal reports. We really do not have any choice; if we want to continue to receive work from these companies we must lower our fees.

In contrast, the fees being charged to homeowners has increased. This “gap” between what the appraiser is being paid and what the homeowner is being charged is the fee that the AMC (Appraisal Management Company) is receiving for their services. In addition to the lower fees, turnaround time requirements are being decreased. With lower fees, and shorter periods of time to complete assignment, quality is suffering. Increasingly AMC’s use fee as their only criteria for choosing their appraiser, even at the expense of appraiser/appraisal quality. Many times the AMC will hire and “out of area” appraiser for a job just because their fee is the lowest, even if the appraiser is not familiar with the area. This has created problems with geographic competency, which just means that appraisers are doing appraisals in areas they are not familiar with.

Appraisers are not the only ones suffering. A recent survey sent to Realtors indicated that appraisal reports are taking longer to complete, which in turn extends the time needed to close the loan. In some instance the delay has caused the sale to be cancelled. The issue of geographic competence has also affected the appraisal values of some properties. Appraisers who are not knowledgeable in certain areas are providing inaccurate appraisals which can cause sales transactions to be cancelled.

There are many more examples of how the HVCC is adversely affecting the various industries that rely on appraisal services. Do you have an example that has not been mentioned? Have you found the opposite to be true? I would be interested in hearing from you.

An Alternative to Selling in A Slow Market

Tom Horn — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:38:10 +0000

As an appraiser I estimate value. My estimate is based on several different methods, however the approach that is usually given the most emphasis is the market approach. This approach, which is also known as the sales comparison approach, utilizes recent sales of similar homes within the subject property’s market area. In today’s economic climate this has been a problem in certain areas because sales have been slow. The properties that have sold have experienced declining values over past years. For those wanting to sell their homes now, this has been a challenge. Neighborhoods and communities are also experiencing overall declines in value.

One alternative to selling in this slow market is renting your home . By renting you can generate income and put off selling the home until the market returns to more acceptable levels. This may not work for everybody but it is something you may want to consider. My friend Bryan Jenkins at AHI Corporate Housing handles rentals and can answer any questions you may have. He can be reached at (205) 682-9106. You may find this to be a great alternative for your situation.

Foreclosures Have Big Impact on Birmingham Home Sales

Tom Horn — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:36:30 +0000

The Birmingham Association of Realtors recently released sales data for the greater Birmingham market. Over the past 14 months the data indicates that foreclosure sales have held fairly stready with small variations, while traditional sales have varied quite a bit. The traditional sales were at a low in January then peaked around July and then started a decline to another low in February 2010. Because of the two variations in trends, the percent of foreclosure to total homes sales has varied as well. At the beginning and end of the period, foreclosures made up a larger percentage of the total, however in the middle, around July they were at the lowest.

The average sale price of a foreclosure for this 14 month period was $77,884 and the average sales price for a traditional sale was $213,423. You can see how such a difference can bring the average sale price of a home down. Traditional sales will have to maintain high levels and foreclosure sales will have to decrease in order for the average price to climb. What are your thoughts on this happening, considering the state of the economy?

The Pre-Listing Appraisal: A Smart Choice in Today’s Market

Tom Horn — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:55 +0000

People may think that I believe this because I am an appraiser, but it truly makes sense. I have seen it happen numerous times. A house is selling and everything has been done: contract, title, home inspection, etc. and the last thing is the appraisal. Unfortunately sometimes the value just isn’t there, and the deal falls through. The number of foreclosure and short sales makes them impossible to look over, and because of this property values are being pulled down.

This can be avoided with a pre-listing appraisal which is an appraisal to determine the market value of the home for selling purposes. I see this mostly in FSBO situations, however in today’s volatile real estate market, it only makes sense for MLS/agent listed homes too. In the FSBO situation homeowners attempt to list their home based on what they believe to be accurate sales information. I once did an appraisal for a homeowner who based his asking price on what his neighbor told him he sold his house for. Unfortunately the neighborhood inflated the price a little. My client listed his home too high, and the home just would not sell. I did an appraisal and found out the home the owner was basing his price on sold for less, and since I used that home as a comparable, the appraised value was lower than what my client had his home listed for. The good part was that the value I arrived at was based on what other homes actually sold for. This gave my client a value that was based on the market and it compared well with other homes. Two weeks later my client had a contract.

Usually people can get the sales price and date of a sale from public records, however the particulars of the transaction (financing, motivations of buyers/sellers, and physical characteristics of the home) may be harder to track down. These things do affect what a home sells for. Sometimes a home may sell low because of a divorce situation (I would not use this sale) or sometimes it may sell high because the seller paid more than typical closing costs. Some homes have finished basements, which will cause it to sell higher. These things are analyzed by appraisers to arrive at a market value for the home in question. An appraiser’s estimate of value is unbiased and based on market data. If a homeowner tries to price their home they may list it high because they are emotionally tied to the home.

Real estate agents do provide a more market derived estimate of value for the home better than the homeowner can, however even they do not go into as much detail as an appraiser does. In addition, in today’s market an agent may recommend a price lower (because of depreciation in some areas) than what the homeowner may have expected. A professional appraisal can provide support to what the agent came up with if the homeowner is unhappy. Local realtor Collier Swecker, with the Mega Agent Real Estate team at REMAX Advantage agrees. He believes an appraisal on the front end of a listing can help. Here him in his own words on his youtube video:

By getting a professional appraisal before listing the home, and basing the price on the appraisal, there will not be any surprises when it comes down to the last stages of closing the deal. This makes everybody happy…and only makes sense.