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Residential Appraisal Services

Why an Appraisal?

You might wonder why you need to pay for an appraisal, when you can get a “free” value estimate of your home from a real estate sales person, broker, or website. Appraisals pay for themselves by saving you money in the long run. Appraisals can prevent bad financial decisions and help identify beneficial ones. Appraisals ensure a fair, unbiased, and credible opinion of the value of your real estate assets. Appraisers are held to numerous ethical requirements intended to ensure public trust in our objectivity. Under Illinois law (225 ILCS 458/5-5), only licensed and certified appraisers can provide appraisal services. No instant on-line estimate meets the legal and ethical requirements of an appraisal. These are used primarily as click-bait for marketing purposes, and cannot identify, verify, make, or support judgments about a home’s marketable features or local market conditions. Likewise, no one acting as a real estate sales person or broker can meet the unbiased objectivity and ethics requirements of an appraiser. Suburban Value works hard to maintain our objectivity, impartiality, and discretion. We never take assignments where a predetermined bias or outcome is required. We never share our value conclusions or any of your information without your permission. Our chief appraiser has over 25 years of experience in local markets and has extensive qualifications that add further weight and credibility to our value conclusions.

Sellers and Buyers

Never buy or sell a home without an appraisal. If you are buying, an unbiased opinion by an appraiser gives you the information you need to prevent overpaying. If you are selling your home, an appraisal helps you identify a marketable price without leaving any money on the table.

An experienced appraiser can also advise on property and market condition issues that may affect your home’s eligibility for FHA, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, VA, or USDA loan programs. This helps you avoid last-minute or unnecessary repairs. For sales between family members, an unbiased appraisal is the ideal way to determine a fair sale price and support the gift-of-equity amount that must be reported to the IRS. You can be confident that an appraisal from Suburban Value exceeds the IRS qualifications. No instant “click-bait” value estimate from a real estate sales person or broker can meet the legal and ethical requirements of an appraisal for this purpose. We always maintain discretion and never share your information without your permission.

PMI Removal

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is supplemental insurance that is required when the amount being loaned is more than 80% of the value of a home. The cost of this insurance is added to your monthly mortgage payment and often forgotten about. However, as your home increases in value and you pay down your loan, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio will drop below 80%. The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 requires lenders to remove PMI payments when this happens. An appraisal is the best way to determine and support your home’s current value so you can stop paying PMI. This appraisal pays for itself. No instant “click-bait” value estimate from a real estate sales person or broker can meet the legal and ethical requirements of an appraisal for this purpose. We always maintain discretion and never share your information without your permission.

Estate Settlement

An appraisal report is the best way for an executor to make and support decisions involving residential real estate assets. We can determine current market value prior to selling the home. We can also provide the retrospective (date of death) estimate that may be required by the IRS. Be aware under Illinois law (225 ILCS 458/5-5), only licensed appraisers can provide appraisals. Appraisers are held to numerous ethical requirements intended to ensure public trust in our objectivity. No instant “click-bait” value estimate from a real estate sales person or broker can meet the legal and ethical requirements of an appraisal.  We always maintain discretion and never share your information without your permission.

Divorce Settlements

An appraisal provides a fair and impartial opinion of value when dividing real estate assets. Both parties in the divorce may agree on a single appraisal, or each may get their own appraisal. A second appraisal is especially useful if the home is unique, or if there is a chance of bias or influence in the value opinion. Suburban Value works hard to maintain our objectivity, impartiality, and discretion. We never take assignments where a predetermined bias or outcome is required. We never share our value conclusions or any of your information without your permission.

Property Tax Assessment (Tax Appeal)

Property taxes are high! When your tax assessor’s value estimate of your home is higher than sales of comparable homes in the neighborhood, challenging it with an appraisal is your best option. You will need a retrospective appraisal report completed specifically for tax appeal in order to meet the requirements of the review board. Only a licensed appraiser can provide these services. Online estimates or mortgage appraisals will not meet the requirements.

As of the time of  publication, ALL of Suburban Value’s tax appeal appraisals have been accepted by the local, county, or state review boards they were submitted to. Most of our tax appeal clients have saved $500-$1000 per year, and several have saved over $1000 per year. If you suspect that your assessor’s value estimate is at least $10,000-$15,000 higher than your home’s actual value, please contact us for a free consultation. See our free assessment calculator to estimate your yearly savings.

Forensic Reviews and Forensic Appraisals

Forensic Reviews are often used where fraud or bias is suspected. They involve the review of an appraisal completed at a past date (usually within 1-5 years) for reliability and compliance with applicable laws, guidelines, and ethical requirements. These reviews require the appraiser to gather information about the condition of the home, market, and other influences that were present as of the past date specified by the client. This type of retrospective value report is often used for settlements, arbitration, insurance claims, lawsuits, or any situation in which a value “as of” a past date is required.

Suburban Value works hard to maintain our objectivity, impartiality, and discretion. We never take assignments where a predetermined bias or outcome is required. We never share our value conclusions or any of your information without your permission. Our chief appraiser has over 25 years of experience in local markets and has extensive qualifications that add further weight and credibility to our value conclusions.

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