You have found an Oklahoma home you are considering buying with cash. No lender is asking for an appraisal, but you still want an independent opinion of what the property is worth before making your decision.
You can commission an appraisal for your own purchase decision. It gives you a professional value opinion to consider alongside the asking price and the other information important to you. The decision about what to pay remains yours.
What makes a buyer-commissioned appraisal different?
When you engage the appraiser directly, explain that you are buying without lender financing and want a value opinion for your own purchase decision. You are the client and an intended user of that assignment. If someone else needs to use the report, raise that at the beginning: receiving a copy does not automatically make someone an intended user.
A typical lender-ordered appraisal provides the lender with an unbiased estimate of value for a mortgage assignment. If you later seek financing, ask the lender what it requires rather than assuming it will accept the report you commissioned.
Looking beyond the asking price
An appraisal considers the home and relevant market evidence, including comparable sales, to develop an independent value opinion. That gives you another piece of information to weigh against the asking price; the two figures need not be the same.
For example, Cleveland County has both attached and detached single-unit homes. If the home you are considering is attached, nearby detached sales are not automatically the best comparisons. The appraiser assesses which sales provide useful evidence for the particular property. Tell the appraiser what type of home you are considering and, if you know them, its ownership details. An attached home is not necessarily a condominium.
An appraisal is not a home inspection
An appraisal addresses value. A home inspection addresses the condition of a home's systems and components. Condition can be relevant to value, but an appraisal is not a substitute for a separate home inspection. If you have questions about the home's physical condition, discuss them with a qualified home inspector as well.
Talk with Daniel about the property
Daniel Rhynes of Rhynes Appraisals is an Oklahoma Certified Residential Appraiser who accepts buyer-commissioned residential appraisal work for cash or other non-lender purchase decisions. To discuss your particular property, have the following ready if available:
- The address and county, property type and any unusual features you know about.
- The value question you want answered and anyone else you expect to use the report.
- What you know about access to the property and when you need the information.
Ask whether the assignment is a fit, what the report will provide, the fee and whether your timing is achievable. If you are considering a home and want an independent value opinion for your decision, contact Rhynes Appraisals to discuss those details.
About Rhynes Appraisals
Daniel Rhynes is an Oklahoma Certified Residential Appraiser with Rhynes Appraisals. The firm serves Cleveland, Oklahoma, McClain, Pottawatomie, Grady, Garvin, Pontotoc and Seminole counties.