E 2 POST REGISTER Friday, February 14, 2014

OPEN HOUSE
To advertise, call (208) 524-7355 or classifieds@postregister.com
Post Register
1825 Midway/Ammon
Copper Creek
Homes
(208) 346-2000
Saturday 10am-5pm
Monday-Friday
11am-6:30pm
Directions: From the intersection of Hitt and 17th Street,
head east on 17th to Midway and turn right to house on
the left.
Fabulous Model Home!
The luxury you want at a price you
can afford
www.coppercreekhomesidaho.com.
Check out our
Open House listing
every Saturday
Call today 524-SELL
The path to your
dream home
starts here.
By Casey Archibald
For the Post Register
Editors note: This is the third
story in a series covering the
home-buying process. Each
week will cover the steps
you can expect to go through
before moving day.
In any transaction, a buy-
er wants to make sure theyre
paying a fair price. A home
purchase is no diferent.
Tats where the appraisal
comes in.
Mark Liebel, the owner
and president of Mark Lieb-
el Appraisal Service as well
as a REALTOR at Keller
Williams, said the appraisal
usually occurs afer the cred-
it has been taken care of, the
underwriting is completed
and the buyer and seller
have agreed on a pur-
chase price. Tat is when
the appraiser is brought
into the picture to make sure
the home is worth what ev-
eryone is saying it is worth.
Liebel defned an apprais-
al as An opinion of value
based on the date the prop-
erty was inspected.
Te appraisal occurs later
on in the home buying pro-
cess and involves the work
of appraisers to determine
the value of the home, which
is then reported back to the
lender involved in the trans-
action.
Liebel said appraisers con-
sider things like the number
of bedrooms and bathrooms
in the home, the size, the
amenities, the condition, the
current market and other
comparable homes that are
listed in the area.
According to Liebel, the
deliverables for an appraisal
include a unifed form that
is used by all appraisers, a
building sketch, a plat map,
a location map, a
set of pictures,
comparabl e
properties
to the one in question and,
of course, an estimate of the
value of the property.
Gary Fawcett a state li-
censed, certifed residential
appraiser at Gary Fawcett
Appraisals, explained that
an appraisers duty is to pres-
ent an unbiased opinion to
the lender about the
property.
It is important for us to
protect the client that is hir-
ing us to do the job, said
Fawcett. Our client is the
lender, and the lender has a
certain percentage amount
that they are going to loan
based on the market value of
the property that is ap-
praised.
Tough the
appraisal is
required, and
it is completed
solely through
the lender,
the home buyer is expected
to pay for the service. How-
ever, the appraisal can great-
ly beneft the buyer as well as
the lender.
Te appraisal process
should absolutely concern
the buyer, said Liebel. If
they are buying the proper-
ty it is valuable for them to
know that it is worth what
they are paying for it. Te
appraisal helps the buyer
make sure they are on the
right track for what they are
buying.
Fawcett said the appraiser
is hired and an appraisal is
obtained by the lender to as-
sure them of their collateral
position for the loan.
Appraisals are usually
to the lenders beneft,
said Fawcett. However,
it benefts the borrow-
er too because it lets
them know that they
are not overpaying for
the property.
Liebel described
appraisers as a disin-
terested third party.
We want to de-
termine the value based on
what we see in the market
place, said Liebel. We are
not commission-based. We
do the best we can to deter-
mine the value and it secures
and helps both the buyer and
the lender.
Liebel said his goal is to do
his best to estimate fair mar-
ket value for his customers.
Tat gives the home buy-
er and the lender the security
they need, said Liebel. We
want to provide security and
equity for the lender. Tey
need to know the house is
worth it so they dont lend
too much money. With the
appraisal, the buyers know
they are making a good pur-
chase. Tat way if they want
to resell they can as long as
the market doesnt change.
Liebel said one of the most
rewarding parts about be-
ing in the appraisal business
is meeting a lot of diferent
people and seeing a variety
of properties.
It is cool to see how dif-
ferent properties ft in and
react to the market place in
diferent ways, said Lieb-
el. It doesnt get boring; its
a great job. If you love real
estate, being an appraiser
is cool because you get to
see so many locations
and properties and
meet a lot of in-
teresting people
along the way.
REALTOR NEWS
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Post Register
Fair value
Appraisal lets buyer, lender know the true value of the property
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