5 Things to Look for in a Property Appraiser

Homeowners who are seeking a property appraiser often ask "How should I choose which real estate appraiser to use?" When selecting a property appraiser, keep the following in mind:

Always make sure a property appraiser is licensed or certified by the state to perform real estate appraisals. While state licensing and/or certification isn't always an indication of quality, it ensures that an individual is has met certain standards and been authorized to perform property appraisals. Some states do not require licensing to perform real estate appraisals. It is unwise to use the services of any professional who is not licensed or certified.

Don't be afraid to ask an appraiser for a copy of their license. A good appraiser will readily provide this documentation. Copies of licenses are commonly requested by mortgage brokers and loan officers. Once you get a copy of their license, it's a good idea to check with the government agency which issued the document to ensure the license is active and in good standing.

Many excellent real estate appraisers carry a professional designation. The most widely known industry designations are SRPA, SRA and MAI. These designations are issued by the Appraisal Institute. These designations demonstrate an appraiser's commitment to continuing education and ethical standards. Oftentimes, the standards required to obtain these designations exceed those set forth by state licensing/certified requirements.

Ask the real estate appraiser what percentage of their work is performed in the neighborhood in which the property is located. Appraisers who do a lot of their work or live in a particular area often have a deep knowledge of property values in that area. Additionally, they are more likely to know how "neighborhood variables" such as school districts and fire departments affect the property values in the area.

Lastly, find out if the property appraiser has experience performing appraisals for consumers as opposed to real estate professionals. Mortgage brokers and loan officers have distinctly different needs than homeowners. An appraiser who understands the needs of homeowners is more likely to help you learn about the appraisal process and answer questions you may have along the way.

Mary Collins currently works for http://www.find-appraisers.com and is a consultant with experience in the real estate industry. She and the staff at Find-Appraisers.com are focused on helping consumers and real estate professionals quickly find licensed/certified property appraisers in any county across the United States.

MORE RESOURCES:

Learn to Profit from Real Estate - Even in Tough Markets - MarketWatch

ERA Pacesetter closes real estate business - Bizjournals.com

Tokyo Replaces Shanghai as Best Asian City to Buy Real Estate - Bloomberg

Nokomis Real Estate Ventures LLC files bankruptcy petition - Bizjournals.com

Citigroup Said to Cut Most of Asia Real Estate Team After Slump - Bloomberg

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4i-0fd=Rurl=http://proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/3638/hong-kong-down-as-wall-st-crashes-and-hsbc-jacks-up-mortgage-rates-3638.htmlcid=1276857068ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNGPuenP3LLEmhe6cxDsZfFrFiWqQwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=lsNKDfOxfywJimgurl=proactiveinvestors.co.uk/genera/img/companies/news/china350_493503b2ae74b.jpg width=65 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Proactive Investors UK/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3DafjkpmbQDyaU%26refer%3Dhomecid=1276857068ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNHoPuOPVl5mAbVptr2Va6dx2RRh5ACitigroup Said to Cut Most of Asia bReal Estate/b Team After Slump/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-13 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. fired most employees at its breal estate/b investment banking team in Asia after slumping property prices stifled share sales b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-1fd=Rurl=http://www.rttnews.com/Content/BreakingNews.aspx%3FNode%3DB1%26Id%3D791401%2520%26Category%3DBreaking%2520Newscid=1276857068ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNHzrE_8ouyimriXINfOVqo7I2-YJgCitigroup Said To Cut Most of Asia bReal Estate/b Team, Reports b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrRTT News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-2fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSHKG24058120081203cid=1276857068ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNG_n-g97Z0Vhau04bMp7KbJwtZVwAChina property stock rally too much, too soon?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-3fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601109%26sid%3Day7HZbCLGLEA%26refer%3Dhomecid=1276857068ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNGAqqN1FlhpA5wr7WJ0JELnqLRrJQChina Property Slump Threatens Global Economy as Growth Slows/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBloomberg/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276857068hl=ennobrall 154 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Neuberger Berman Real Estate Securities Income Fund Inc. Announces ... - MarketWatch

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UPDATE 2-Sibir market value halves on real estate buy - Forbes

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/03/sibir-russia-oil-property-tchigirinskicid=1277136024ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNHYFJRL5yh3Q_eF6hDFVBetEx7lYgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=G0Z9onrcFO0Jimgurl=static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Business/Pix/pictures/2008/12/03/sh4.jpg width=80 height=48 alt= border=1brfont size=-2guardian.co.uk/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/12/03/afx5771724.htmlcid=1277136024ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNFkKasP-lFkgAw0JrI8mGyBG37MzQUPDATE 2-Sibir market value halves on breal estate/b buy/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fForbes,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Sibir had already outraged minority shareholders when it said in October it would buy some $157 million worth of breal estate/b from its key owner, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUSL364626620081203cid=1277136024ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNFAntRHeFA0UWd3KJZ0bP-FgUGqQwUPDATE 1-Sibir shares sink 30 pct on breal estate/b buy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-2fd=Rurl=http://en.rian.ru/business/20081203/118667008.htmlcid=1277136024ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNF_d-nWQ0CcFD6ticjUyqEBOyXyCQSibir Energy to buy $340mln breal estate/b assets from developer - 2/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrRIA Novosti/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-3fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3DaS_Y7fzEKDYc%26refer%3Dhomecid=1277136024ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNFrvIK0ae-f8qTfaJNLmuB_8qHTIwSibir Plunges 57% on Russian Billionaire ‘Bailout’ (Update4)/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBloomberg/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-4fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/03/sibir-russia-oil-property-tchigirinskicid=1277136024ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNHYFJRL5yh3Q_eF6hDFVBetEx7lYgnobrguardian.co.uk/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-5fd=Rurl=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/081a92d0-c17a-11dd-831e-000077b07658.htmlcid=1277136024ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNGbbwCxsm8h9yBSpXGufGUHsFwduQnobrFinancial Times/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1277136024hl=ennobrall 80 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Icahn Sues Real Estate Company Over Debt - New York Times

Whitehall Funds Lose Their Luster - Wall Street Journal

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122826598899374457.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1277094278ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNHvoH7dqSlZD5BJ8xmOyc41aPnKIgWhitehall Funds Lose Their Luster/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWall Street Journalnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By ANTON TROIANOVSKI and LINGLING WEI Goldman Sachs Group Inc.#39;s Whitehall family of breal-estate/b funds is struggling with weak performance and potentially b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-1fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN0351371720081203cid=1277094278ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNFJlxhcTNwhbEvbS7aXs21I87XsGgGoldman Whitehall head warned of firm#39;s exposure/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-2fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSBNG24933320081203cid=1277094278ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNFTbmFQ54BxXtsjjl1PIXGIuvZZNgGoldman Whitehall funds hit by property slump-WSJ/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1277094278hl=ennobrall 12 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

What Lies Ahead In The Real Estate And Financial Services Industries - The Metropolitan Coporate Counsel

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php%3FartType%3Dview%26artMonth%3DDecember%26artYear%3D2008%26EntryNo%3D9115cid=1276839629ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNEDsDCqW4HGc1SnNAmzKakgXIqZ5gWhat Lies Ahead In The bReal Estate/b And Financial Services Industries/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Metropolitan Coporate Counsel,nbsp;NJnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Editor interviews Dominic De Simone and David Barksdale, Partners in Ballard Spahr#39;s bReal Estate/b Department in the firm#39;s Philadelphia and Las Vegas b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-1fd=Rurl=http://www.opednews.com/articles/Paulson-shoots-another-arr-by-Andrew-Hughes-081203-438.htmlcid=1276839629ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNHSKVpuJszPrHORpah6QYUa-VYCxwPaulson shoots another arrow in to the heart of the Economy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrOpEdNews/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-2fd=Rurl=http://industry.bnet.com/financial-services/1000217/financial-roundup-landamerica-leaves-investors-hanging-gao-urges-faster-bailout-controls-small-business-credit-available-go-bankrupt-and-face-the-sec/cid=1276839629ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNFE86JDB3rKq6c8I0EQcp2XANm5awFinancial Roundup: LandAmerica Leaves Investors Hanging, GAO Urges b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBNET/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-3fd=Rurl=http://www.euromoney.com/Article/2059758/Category/14/ChannelPage/0/Paulson-tries-to-rewrite-the-record.htmlcid=1276839629ei=qAE3Scz4BJ_S9QS3n7WgDwusg=AFQjCNEWHqVcf5gf3I_LHy6-Mss9-Zf3tQPaulson tries to rewrite the record/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrEuromoney Magazine/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276839629hl=ennobrall 743 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real-Estate - Google News

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