Should I have my house appraised?

Short answer: for a normal sale, no. For six specific situations, yes, and it is money well spent. Here is the decision rule I use. A comparative market analysis from a good listing agent is free, is built on the same recent sales an appraiser would use, and factors in what buyers are doing right now, which an appraisal does not. So if your goal is simply to price a house you intend to list on the open market, the CMA is the better tool and the appraisal is a duplicate cost. The other thing worth knowing is that if your buyer is financing, their lender orders its own appraisal from its own approved panel and will not accept yours. You cannot pre-buy that step. Where a paid appraisal genuinely earns its fee: Settling an estate. You need a retrospective appraisal establishing fair market value as of the date of death. That number sets the stepped-up cost basis for the heirs and supports any state inheritance tax filing. A CMA will not stand up here. Divorce or a buyout between co-owners. When one party is paying the other for a share, you want an independent certified appraiser working to USPAP standards, not a number either side's agent produced. A property with no real comparables. Unusual acreage, a horse property, a house with a legal accessory unit, waterfront, something custom in a tract neighborhood. When an agent cannot find three honest comps, an appraiser's adjustment methodology is worth paying for. Removing mortgage insurance or challenging a property tax assessment. Both processes want an appraisal, not an opinion. Selling to a family member or an unrepresented buyer. Having a third party number in the file protects both of you and heads off the "you got a deal because you are related" argument later, including with the IRS if the price is well under market. An appraisal gap dispute on a live deal. If the lender's appraisal comes in below the contract price, a second appraisal or a formal reconsideration of value with better comps is your route to saving the deal. One thing to be clear about. Your own appraisal has no authority over a buyer's lender. It is evidence, not a verdict. What it does buy you is confidence in your own list price and a document to point to when a buyer's agent argues. Note that this question was asked back in 2021, so if you are reading it now, appraisal turn times and fees have both come down from the peak of that period, and hybrid and desktop appraisals are far more common than they were. Ask for a full interior appraisal if the purpose is legal or tax related. I am a real estate professional, not an appraiser or a CPA. If this is estate or tax related, coordinate with the attorney or accountant handling it before ordering, because the effective date of the appraisal matters as much as the number. I am Zoltan Peresztegi and I work Palos Verdes and the South Bay in Los Angeles. Happy to help directly if you are here, and glad to tell you what to ask a local agent if you are not. Zoltan

This depends on the reasoning; we would need more information to appropriately answer this question. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

It depends on why you're asking. If you're selling, refinancing, or dividing assets in a divorce, an appraisal gives you a professional, defensible opinion of value. If you're just curious about what your home is worth, start with a free CMA from a local real estate agent. A CMA uses the same comparable sales data an appraiser would and gives you a solid estimate without the $400 to $600 cost of a formal appraisal. If you need a number for legal purposes, a lender, a court proceeding, an estate settlement, or a tax dispute, a formal appraisal is the way to go because it carries legal weight that a CMA doesn't. Contact a licensed residential appraiser in your area directly, or if you're refinancing or buying, the lender will order one through their appraisal management company.

Like Spirit's answer as well as Anna's, but don't like anything to do with Zillow or their Zestimate. It's BS and doesn't amount to much. Very inaccurate. Along with the fact that once they make their big move, they'll try and push most of us agents out.

As usual, two excellent answers from Anna and Spirit.

Hi, this depends on Your asking price and Your market - a Realtor should know some appraisers, however You can also google appraisers in Your area. Zillow Zestimate is usually a great place to start as it takes into consideration recently listed and sold homes with similar criteria to Yours... but it could be entirely off also.. Feel free to reach out if You're in NY/NJ/PA for more details. Goodluck!