Welcome to San Diego County Appraisals!

Know who you are allowing into your home!  When you receive the initial phone call from the appraiser, verify the license number and license level of the appraiser.  Some companies will send trainee appraisers and then have someone else sign the report as if they had done the physical inspection.  Check the apprasiers photo I.D. at the door and match their name to their business card.

Perform a free background check with the California office of Real Estate Appraisers.  Once you have the license number or name of the appraiser(s) who will be performing the inspection, perform a free background check for any state disciplinary action by visiting the California Office of Real estate Appraisers website. Please note, the site is case sensitive. Appraiser names need to be searched in all caps. At http://www.orea.ca.gov/html/lic_appraisers.asp

Does the appraiser have local experience?  All too often, appraisal companies will dispatch an appraiser from a neighboring county who is not familiar with local neighborhoods.  Our local  appraisal experience dates back to 1988.

Does the appraiser's license level match the task at hand?  In California there are three distinct license levels encountered in residential appraisal. Each level is identified by the two letters preceeding the license number. "AT" stands for appraiser trainee.  "AL"  stands for appraiser licensee.  "AR" stands for certified appraiser.  Many lenders will not accept solo inspections by a trainee.  Appraisers who are not certified, are not allowed to value properties in excess of $1,000,000.

Have you recently added on or remodeled?  Have a written list of any changes and remodeling you have made since you purchased your home.  If you have added living area, inform the appraiser early on as county records may not yet reflect the correct size.  If additions were made by previous owners and permit history is unknown, inform the appraiser.  We do not forward information on additions (legal or not) to the local tax assessor. 

Do you have a remodel in progress?  Notify your loan officer immediately.  You may want to hold off on scheduling the inspection until work is complete.   Although the ultimate decision is made in underwriting, most lenders will not lend on a home without a working kitchen and functional bathrooms.  

Restrain your dogs.  Even friendly dogs can sometimes be startled by a stranger in the home. Place your dogs in the garage or dog run so the appraiser can concentrate on the task at hand.

Point out recent sales you have noticed in your neighborhood. Although appraisers have the same data sources as real estate agents, there may be comparable for sale by owner properties which can be used in the report. A diligent appraiser, genuinely concerned with arriving at a correct value estimate, will take the extra time to listen to you.

Be loyal to your loan officer.  You should receive a good faith estimate of loan costs by email early in the loan shopping process.  The appraiser's legal client is the entity which makes initial contact to order the appraisal.  Trying to switch lenders once the process has started can involve unnecessary red tape and often results in the homeowner having to pay for an entirely new appraisal.

If you have security bars on bedroom windows, most lenders will require they be equipped with a safety release system in case of fire.

Don't drain your pool.  Lenders consider an empty pool a safety hazard and will generally not fund a loan until it is filled. The appraiser will have to make a second inspection for verification. You will receive your loan proceeds faster with a green pool than an empty one.

Allow time for report completion. The property inspection is an intermediate point in the appraisal process. The appraiser will not have a final value opinion until completion of the report which typically takes a few days.  A final report copy can be requested by contacting your loan officer.