As you start to get serious about buying one of the homes for sale in Duval County, you will start to realize there are a lot of things you have to pay for along the way. Everything from your down payment to a property appraisal.
You may ask yourself why in the world you would need to have a property appraisal. After all, the property appraisal is just a piece of paper with someone else’s opinion about what a piece of real estate is worth.
Getting Approved For A Mortgage Loan
First of all, you are required to get a property appraisal by the lender in order to be approved for a mortgage loan. The lender needs to know that they are not lending you more money than the property is worth. This is because if a home is foreclosed on, the bank has to try to recoup the loss by selling the property. If they lent more money than the property was worth, they would not be able to derive as much money in a foreclosure sale.
Hiring A Professional Property Appraiser
Fortunately, the government has set up licensing programs for appraisers and they must be licensed to practice. Congress did this to prevent fraudulent appraisals from being submitted to lenders about what a property is worth.
Though many times the lender will provide the property appraiser, sometimes the home buyer is allowed to do the hiring. In that case, be sure to ask about their credentials and to see their business license to ensure you are hiring a true professional to appraise your Duval County real estate.
Date: 2008-09-19 12:42:00