General Appraisal Questions

Is not allowed under any circumstances

Is allowed as long as there is no attempt to influence values and comps are shared

Is recommended without reservation

Should not be reported - it has no value

Should be reported - it is worth half as much as the finished space

Should be reported - unfinished basements have value

Major highway is or will be in close proximity

A murder or death recently occurred in the home

There is a significant amount of unpermitted square footage in the home

You can use the information from the tax card, an old appraisal or an old MLS sheet

You should perform the measurements yourself or ask for help from a person with greater expertise in measuring (such as your BIC or an appraiser)

You may add up the dimensions of all the rooms to calculate the total

Roughly half of the finished square footage above grade

The value depends on factors such as finish quality

Exactly the same as the above grade square footage if it is finished to the same standards

Add the costs of all recent improvements (new roof, upgraded kitchen, etc.) and add them to their value

Never look at anything more than five miles away from the subject home

Are not permitted to use comps outside of the subject home's subdivision

Never include homes with 0 days-on-market

Never include comps that were cash transactions

$5,000

$10,000

It depends on the neighborhood and buyer expectations

$0 - most buyers do not want an inground pool

A broker-in-charge

A listing agent

A buyer's agent

An appraiser