What to expect during the inspection

Here are a few things that will help you know what to expect during the appraisal inspection. Following these tips and guidelines will help streamline the inspection.

• The inspection typically only lasts about 15-20 minutes. Count on a little extra time if there are a large amount of outbuildings or a house larger than 5,000sf

• I will take pictures of every room. That includes bathrooms, bedrooms, garages, and common area’s. That also means I will need access to every room.

• If your loan is an FHA loan, I will need access to the crawl space and attic. If you crawl space access is in a closet, you may need to move stuff out of the closet prior. If your attic access is in the garage, I will need space below to put a stepstool to gain access.

• Let me know if any major upgrades you have made since the previous purchase. Also, any features or upgrades that aren’t visible, such as heated floors. I can only note on the appraisal what I know about and I can’t see everything.

• Ensure the hot water tank is double earthquake strapped. This can avoid an extra trip and fee to come back out and inspect it. If you have a tankless hot water heater, no straps are needed.

• Secure any pets. While the appraiser may like dogs, jumping dogs can distract the appraiser and things may be missed. Even if the dog is quiet and behaved, some might be scared of dogs and still be a distraction.

• We do not give values after the inspection. The inspection is only the first part of the appraisal. We do welcome and comps suggestions you may have seen in the area recently or any extra thoughts you think we should consider for the appraisal. We take all information to come up with our value conclusions. It is possible you may not see something you mentioned in the appraisal. This could be for a lot of different reasons such as it may not have been a material fact that effects the value.

• If you have added on square feet since the previous purchase, or have done a complete remodel, tell the appraiser now, before the inspection.

• If there are repairs to be made as a condition of the appraisal, the appraiser will walk you through them at the end of the inspection. While conditional repairs are rare, they do happen and we will give you all the info you need to get it to an acceptable level.

• If there is special parking instructions, please let the appraiser know before hand.

• For purchases and refinances, we are not allowed to give out the appraisal to anyone. You are entitled to a copy of the appraisal from the lender.