A Description of the Appraisal Process

A home purchase is the most important financial decision most may ever encounter. Whether it's a primary residence, a seasonal vacation home or a rental fixer upper, the purchase of real property is an involved transaction that requires multiple people working in concert to see it through.

To learn more about appraising, click here to see a short video or call us today to talk about your specific property.


Most people are familiar with the parties taking part in the transaction. The real estate agent is the most known entity in the transaction. Then, the mortgage company provides the financial capital required to bankroll the exchange. Ensuring all areas of the sale are completed and that the title is clear to transfer from the seller to the buyer is the title company.

So who's responsible for making sure the value of the real estate is consistent with the purchase price?   This is where you meet the appraiser.   We provide an unbiased estimate of what a buyer could expect to pay - or a seller receive - for a parcel of real estate, where both buyer and seller are informed parties. A professional Maine licensed appraiser from Savard Appraisal Services, Inc. will ensure you as an interested party are informed.

The inspection is where an appraisal starts

Our first task at Savard Appraisal Services, Inc. is to inspect the property to determine its true status. We must see aspects of the property hands on, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the location, amenities, etc., to ensure they really exist and are in the condition a typical person would expect them to be. To make sure the stated size of the property is accurate and convey the layout of the home, the inspection often entails creating a sketch of the floor plan. Most importantly, we identify any obvious features - or defects - that would affect the value of the house.

Following the inspection, an appraiser employs two or three approaches when determining the value of real property: sales comparison and, in the case of a rental property, an income approach.

Cost Approach

This is where we analyze information on local building costs, labor rates and other elements to determine how much it would cost to replace the property being appraised. This estimate commonly sets the maximum on what a property would sell for. It's also the least used method.

Analyzing Comparable Sales

Appraisers are intimately familiar with the subdivisions in which they work. We thoroughly understand the value of specific features to the residents of that area. Then, the appraiser looks up recent transactions in the area and finds properties which are 'comparable' to the subject in question. By assigning a dollar value to certain items such as upgraded appliances, additional bathrooms, an additional living area, quality of construction, lot size, we add or subtract from each comparable's sales price so that they are more accurately in line with the features of subject property.

  • If, for example, the comparable property has an irrigation system and the subject does not, the appraiser may deduct the value of an irrigation system from the sales price of the comparable home.
  • If the subject has an extra half-bathroom and the comparable does not, the appraiser might add a certain amount to the comparable property.
At Savard Appraisal Services, Inc., we are an authority in knowing the value of particular items in Lewiston and Androscoggin County neighborhoods. This approach to value is most often given the most importance when an appraisal is for a real estate sale.

Valuation Using the Income Approach

In the case of income producing properties - rental houses for example - the appraiser may use an additional approach to value. In this situation, the amount of revenue the real estate yields is taken into consideration along with income produced by comparable properties to give an indicator of the current value.

Putting It All Together

Examining the data from all applicable approaches, the appraiser is then ready to put down an estimated market value for the property at hand. It is important to note that while the appraised value is probably the strongest indication of what a property would sell for in an open market, it probably will not be the price at which the property closes. There are always mitigating factors such as seller motivation, urgency or 'bidding wars' that may adjust an offer or listing price up or down. Regardless, the appraised value is typically used as a guideline for lenders who don't want to loan a buyer more money than they could get back in case they had to put the property on the market again. The bottom line is: An appraiser from Savard Appraisal Services, Inc. will help you attain the most fair and balanced property value, so you can make profitable real estate decisions.