Back in the last huge housing market crash, sub-prime mortgages brought the entire housing market to it’s knees. Too big to fail became a question everyone was asking. Mortgages were awarded to buyers that might not have qualified if conventional standards were really applied to the transactions in question. Appraisers took some of that fallout, being accused of rubber-stamping home values to fit the needs of the transaction, instead of the actual property value. Appraisers are there to protect the buyer and ensure they(& the lender) aren’t overpaying for a particular property. Any abdication of that responsibility, if true, set up buyers for a long, steep fall with mortgages they couldn’t afford on properties with already inflated values before they even moved in.
Appraisers, for years since, have been rigorous in targeting solid & usually dead-on property values. I’ve had my disagreements with a very few, but by & large, you can take most appraisals to the bank…literally. One of the many changes following the subprime crash, was that mortgage brokers could no longer hire their favorite appraisers. The appraisers had to be hired anonymously through a 3rd party to prevent possible collusion. That policy meant the listing agent was usually the 1st person to know who the appraiser was when he called to make the visit appt.
Another big change is coming in how appraisals are written up. The old forms, still in use today & designed for a typewriter(Yep, that old) were paper, with tiny, hard to read spaces, that didn’t allow for detailed comments, if you could even read them. These forms were so compact, that most detailed data overflowed into a massive confusing addendum.
Starting in Sept 2025, a 14 month program will phase in new electronic forms that will adjust to the data the appraiser wants to input & translate it into a promised clearly readable format. The appraisals will carry far more detail on the land, interiors, exteriors, features, location & so much more. The appraisers final product will have undergone a major accuracy & functional evolution, if all goes as promised.
A thorough Realtor will help in the appraisal process by having done his job & truly know the house, it’s features, location, details, etc. & provide, in an easily understood readable format, that info to the appraiser. By actually attending the appraisal & guiding the appraiser through the property to the true features & benefits of the house that Realtor will play a larger role in producing the most accurate appraisal to date. It’s up to the appraiser then to enter the actual data, consider the best method to evaluate the value & pull it all together for the buyer and the lender.
Times are a changing. Be on top of that change with quality data from a trusted Realtor, you know…..like me & the team at Brook Realty. 
Keep Smiling & Have Fun.
Lew McConkey, Realtor/Notary
Brook Realty, Serving Whitman Hanson & Surrounding Towns
(781)252-9789
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