If an appraiser is coming to your house, it’s because someone needs an independent, professional opinion of what the property is worth. Why would an appraiser come to your house? Usually a mortgage lender ordered one as part of a home purchase, refinance, or equity loan; sometimes an estate, a divorce court, or a property tax appeal is driving the visit. The inspection itself is short — typically 30 to 60 minutes for a standard single-family home — and the appraiser is there to document condition, size, and features so they can compare your home to recent sales nearby.
You’re Buying a Home With a Mortgage
This is the most common reason. When you finance a purchase, the lender orders an appraisal to confirm the property is worth at least the loan amount. The bank isn’t taking your word or the seller’s for it. A neutral professional has to verify that the collateral justifies the debt.
If you offered $425,000 and the appraiser values the home at $390,000, the lender will base your loan on the lower number. You then have to cover the $35,000 gap in cash, negotiate the price down, or walk away. Walking away without losing your earnest money deposit depends on whether your contract includes an appraisal contingency. In competitive markets some buyers waive that clause to strengthen their offers, but the gamble gets expensive when the numbers don’t line up.
FHA Loans Add a Safety Inspection
For FHA-insured loans, the appraiser does more than estimate value. They also check that the home meets minimum standards of safety, security, and structural soundness. That means flagging things like missing stair handrails, exposed wiring, roof damage with less than two years of remaining life, foundation cracks, and lead-based paint hazards in homes built before 1978.1HUD.gov. Rescission of Outdated and Costly FHA Appraisal Protocols These defects generally need to be fixed before the loan can close. Conventional loans don’t carry the same repair requirements, though the appraiser will still note obvious problems that affect value.
You’re Refinancing or Borrowing Against Your Equity
When you refinance, you’re replacing your existing mortgage with a new one, and the lender needs fresh numbers on your home’s current value. The appraisal determines your loan-to-value ratio, which affects the interest rate you qualify for and whether you’ll have to carry private mortgage insurance. If the number comes in lower than expected, you may need to reduce the amount you’re borrowing, bring cash to close the gap, or abandon the refinance.
Home equity loans and HELOCs work the same way. The lender uses the appraised value to calculate your combined loan-to-value ratio: your existing mortgage balance plus the proposed new borrowing, divided by the appraised value. Most lenders cap that combined ratio around 85 percent. If your home has lost value since you bought it, you might find there isn’t enough equity to borrow against at all. A preapproval letter means nothing until the appraiser confirms the numbers.
Someone Has Died, or a Court Needs a Number
When a homeowner dies, the property has to be valued as of the date of death. Federal law requires the gross estate to be determined based on the fair market value of all property at the time of the decedent’s death.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2031 – Definition of Gross Estate An appraiser performs a retrospective valuation — estimating what the home was worth on that specific past date rather than today — using sales data and market conditions from around that time.
For most families, the point of that valuation isn’t federal estate tax; it’s the stepped-up basis for the heir. The basis resets to fair market value at death, so if a parent bought a home for $150,000 decades ago and it was worth $450,000 when they passed, the heir’s basis becomes $450,000. Selling shortly after at that price triggers little or no capital gains tax.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 551 – Basis of Assets Without a professional appraisal documenting that date-of-death value, proving the basis to the IRS later becomes much harder.
Divorce is the other common legal trigger. A certified appraisal provides a neutral baseline for dividing the marital home, whether one spouse buys out the other or the court orders a sale. It carries far more weight than a real estate agent’s informal estimate, and courts handling boundary disputes, condemnation proceedings, and partnership dissolutions rely on appraisals for the same reason.
Your Property Taxes Are Being Reassessed, or You’re Appealing Them
Local tax assessors periodically update the assessed value of every property in the jurisdiction, and that value drives your annual tax bill. In some areas, an appraiser or field representative from the assessor’s office visits homes during revaluation cycles to document additions, renovations, or deterioration. Many jurisdictions rely on aerial imagery and permit records instead, so this kind of visit isn’t universal.
If your assessment seems too high, you can file a formal appeal. The filing window varies widely — some states give you as few as 15 days after you receive the notice, while others allow several months. The strongest evidence is recent sales of comparable homes that support a lower value. You can also point to property defects, environmental issues, or errors in the assessor’s records like wrong square footage or bedrooms that don’t exist. Hiring your own appraiser to produce an independent valuation gives the appeal significantly more credibility than arguing the number feels wrong.
What the Appraiser Actually Does at Your House
The inspection is methodical but not invasive. Expect roughly 30 to 60 minutes for a standard single-family home, longer for larger or unusual properties. The appraiser walks the exterior first, noting the roof, foundation, siding, lot size, and any outbuildings. Inside, they measure the living area, count bedrooms and bathrooms, assess kitchen and bathroom finishes, check the condition of flooring and walls, and look at heating, cooling, and electrical systems.
They take photographs throughout — usually the front and rear exteriors, the kitchen, every bathroom, and any significant features or defects. The analytical work happens after they leave. The appraiser researches comparable sales of similar homes that have closed within the last 12 months in the same market area,4Fannie Mae. B4-1.3-08 Comparable Sales adjusts those prices up or down based on differences, and produces a final opinion of value. The completed report usually reaches the lender within one to two weeks.
How to Prepare for the Visit
You can’t control what nearby homes sold for, but you can make sure the appraiser sees your property at its best and doesn’t miss anything that adds value.
- Write down improvements you’ve made — a new roof, kitchen remodel, HVAC replacement, added square footage — with approximate dates and costs. Appraisers don’t always notice work hidden behind walls or under new flooring.
- Unlock everything, including the attic, basement, crawl spaces, and detached structures. A space the appraiser can’t access may get noted as uninspected, which can hurt your valuation.
- Handle minor repairs. Fix leaky faucets, replace burned-out bulbs, patch small holes, and confirm outlets and switches work. Individually these don’t tank a number, but together they read as deferred maintenance.
- Make sure utilities are on. The appraiser will check that heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems function. A home with utilities shut off raises red flags.
- Clean up the exterior. Mow the lawn, clear debris, and fix broken steps or loose handrails. A neglected exterior leads the appraiser to look harder for problems inside.
The appraiser isn’t grading your housekeeping. Dishes in the sink won’t lower your home’s value. They’re focused on structure, condition, and features relative to the local market, so your goal is simply to remove anything that obscures the property’s quality or raises unnecessary concern.
When No Appraiser Visits at All
Not every mortgage requires an in-person appraisal. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offer several alternatives:
- Value acceptance, sometimes called an appraisal waiver, where the automated underwriting system determines no appraisal is needed. Eligibility depends on the loan type, property type, and loan-to-value ratio, and properties valued at $1,000,000 or more are excluded.5Fannie Mae. Value Acceptance
- Hybrid appraisal, where a trained third party such as a real estate agent or inspector visits the property to collect data and photos, and a licensed appraiser completes the valuation off-site.6Fannie Mae. Hybrid Appraisals
- Desktop appraisal, where the appraiser works entirely from public records, MLS data, and other available information. No one visits the property.
FHA and VA loans generally still require a traditional appraisal with a physical inspection. And even when a waiver is offered, the lender can require a full appraisal if they have concerns about the property or the supporting data.
If the Number Comes in Low
A low appraisal doesn’t have to end the deal. You can request a Reconsideration of Value, or ROV — a formal process where you ask the appraiser to review additional information that may support a higher number. You get one ROV per report, and you submit it through your lender rather than contacting the appraiser directly.7Fannie Mae. Reconsideration of Value (ROV)
Strong ROV evidence means closed comparable sales the appraiser didn’t use, especially homes more similar to yours in size, condition, or location than the ones in the original report. Active listings don’t count; you need recorded sale prices. Factual errors — wrong square footage, a finished basement that was missed — should be flagged clearly.
If the ROV doesn’t move the number, your options depend on the situation. In a purchase, you can negotiate the price down, cover the shortfall in cash, or exercise your appraisal contingency and walk away. In a refinance, you may need to accept less favorable loan terms or wait for the market to catch up. Ordering a second appraisal from a different appraiser is sometimes possible but depends on the lender, and you’ll pay for it yourself with no guarantee of a better result.