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While most everyone knows that real estate agents are the people that show and sell homes, the ins and outs of an appraiser’s job may not be as well known. As an appraisal services organization, Lexur Appraisal definitely knows definitively what appraisers do. Whether you just wanted to know more or are interested in the profession, we have the answers to your questions.

A good start in knowing what an appraiser actually does is knowing what an appraisal is. An appraisal does not just apply to homes; it applies to many forms of properties, including businesses. The short definition is that an appraisal is the estimated value of a property as established by a professional. Pretty straightforward, right? But there are a great many factors that go into the estimated value of a property. Landscape, location, structure and even appliances are all taken into consideration during a home appraisal. Factors are similar in appraisals on other properties. However, these factors can vary from homes to apartment buildings to industrial sites to shopping plazas and to farms.

While you may be thinking I could provide an estimated value of my property!, there are qualifications and requirements that go into being a professional appraiser. Like real estate agents, appraisers must have licenses to do their jobs. This license or other form of certification required in your state demonstrates that an appraiser is qualified to do his/her job. If you’re interested in becoming a professional appraiser, look into your own state’s board or regulatory agency to see what the specific requirements are. In Ohio, to become an appraiser, you typically need an associate degree or higher, or 30 credit hours in the following subjects: business, economics, communication, finance, mathematics and real estate law. Along with this Ohio requires you to have 2,000 experience hours in no less than 24 months preceding application. Appraisers must take an exam to become certified, but the requirements can differ from state to state. Authorized by Congress, The Appraisal Foundation is a foundation that establishes what the minimum requirements are for all types of certified appraisers. Descriptions on what the minimum requirements are and what the types of appraisers are can be found on The Appraisal Foundation’s website.

During a property assessment, an appraiser will walk through the property, including the outdoor areas, and determine the overall condition to give it an estimated value. Location, age, structure and comparable properties are all taken into consideration during this procedure. As there is a code of ethics for appraisers, the judgment of the property should always be bias-free. The length of the appraisal process varies depending on what property is being looked at and how large the property is. Professional appraisers are needed for various tasks such as mortgage lending purposes, assessments, neighborhood updates and negotiations between buyers and sellers, among other duties. What are the specifics we do at Lexur Appraisal? There are far too many to list here, but any type of appraisal or any service associated with appraisals is available from us. Visit our What We Do page to see the complete list.

Though these are just the basics of what an appraiser does, there are many other facets to the profession as well. As there are certified residential appraisers and certified general real estate property appraisers, among other titles, the exact roles of the job may differ from person to person and from state to state. Though this position may be less well known than that of a real estate agent’s the job is every bit as important to the real estate world.