Appraisal services for Seattle and King County homeowners

The top seven reasons WA homeowners order from Brooks Appraisal:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home on their own or using an agent)
  2. Challenge property tax assessments
  3. To reduce your monthly mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. To reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review a different appraiser's report for verification
  6. If property needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To settle an estate in WA by determining the true market value of property in question

Need help determining the value of your home in or near Seattle, WA?
Contact Brooks Appraisal.

At Brooks Appraisal, we understand the particular needs of a homeowner looking for appraisal services. The appraisal process and reporting formats are relatively routine to our business clients like banks, attorneys, and accountants. But as a consumer,you'll receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to more fully understand what we do and how we report our findings.

For Sale By Owner/Pre-Listing Services

Since you have an emotional attachment to your own home, it's often very hard to be objective about it. Our professional appraisers at Brooks Appraisal are objective. We won't just tell you what you want to hear, we will tell you what you need to know. In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract buyers, a professional appraisal is very crucial as a negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer. It gives you something tangible to show your buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's value -- not just you saying how much you think your home is worth. Interested buyers assume you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be far more likely to give credibility to an expert appraiser's value estimation than yours.

Need to cancel PMI?

A popular way to cut costs for homeowners is to get the PMI removed from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Once your mortgage loan amount is less than 80% of the value of your house, in most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI removed from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We are veterans in helping homeowners just like you get rid of unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenging property tax assessments

Lets say your home is not appreciating as much as other homes close by -- your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued. This only means you are probably paying higher taxes than you should be paying. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the quicker you take care of a matter like this, the better. An appraisal report from Brooks Appraisal is your #1 weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Recently got a freeze your HELOC?

If your house is close to a declining area, your lender just may decide to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. Not only can this be inopportune from a cash flow viewpoint, but it can be harmful to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. An expert appraisal from Brooks Appraisal can help you reinstate your HELOC.

Do You Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Have you just been handed a copy of your appraisal and you'd like to have a seasoned appraiser double-check it for efficiency or do you need a second opinion without the cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? In a field review we'll go out and check the subject and comparables. Or, if you need it ASAP, we can provide you with a desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide you with a a retrospective review of any appraisal report you may have in your possession. While usually requested by banks, you may want to exercise this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.