what do I look for on an appraisal report?

Question

I am in escrow on a duplex near long beach and am trying to understand what came out of the appraisal report.

What do I look for?

For the most part - the estimated value based on sales/income/cost approach and rental comps are the most important things, right?

Seems like the sales/income/cost #'s are right on what I offered, and the rental comps are pretty much exactly (maybe about $100 higher) than what it currently rents for.

John Thedford · Answer

Generally, an appraisal for a duplex is going to be done as a SFR. Value will be determined by sales comparables. If your appraiser did a good job and was able to find similar properties near yours, the adjustments will be minor percentages. Look for similar views, similar size, similar condition, etc. The more similar the comps are the less adjustments need to be made.  If you have similar condition, similar views, similar size, similar interior and exterior qualities, locations close to one another, etc...then your appraisal will have lower adjustments and should give a good reflection of value. Appraisals with HUGE adjustments or adjustments that are hard to determine (a very busy street vs a culdesac, etc,  sometimes the appraiser will pick a subjective number that is hard to verify. I have seen some appraisers play real games...and shame on them!