When going through the process of a divorce, it is usually necessary to have an appraisal completed on any owned real estate. This is done to provide a professional, unbiased valuation of marital property to establish the fair market value for an equitable division between divorcing spouses. The appraisal assists in providing an objective basis for negotiations, buyouts, settlements and court decisions. It is also important in developing an understanding of the value of your current assets and future financial planning, which is particularly important when negotiating settlements, alimony and child support.
The cost of the appraisal is typically split between the parties, but this can vary. If an appraiser cannot be agreed upon mutually, both parties may decide to hire their own and pay the full fee individually.
If there is a disagreement between the divorcing spouses on the appraised value, there are several options forward including a second appraisal, arbitration, mediation or putting it in the hands of the court.
We have assisted many homeowners in this process. While it is a stressful and emotional time for our clients, we strive to make the process as straight forward and easy to understand as possible, resulting in a fair valuation for the parties involved. We can also provide professional testimony in court if required.
A revaluation is the process of reassessing all the real property in a town to determine its current fair market value and is conducted every 5 years in CT per state law. The goal is to equalize the tax burden among property owners. Most of the time, these revaluations are pretty straight forward, but sometimes homeowners feel the new valuation on their property may not be accurate, and that is where we can help!
The following Connecticut towns / cities had revaluation in 2025: Ashford, Beacon Falls, Bridgeport, Clinton, Colebrook, Deep River, Durham, East Hampton, Ellington, Fairfield, Greenwich, Haddam, Hartland, Ledyard, Marlborough, Meriden, Middlebury, Milford, New Milford, Newington, North Stonington, Plymouth, Salisbury, Shelton, Somers, Southington, Stafford, Thomaston, Trumbull, Westport, Wolcott and Woodstock.
If you own a single family house, condominium or 2–4-unit house in one of these towns, check your mail for a notice from the town / city informing you of your homes new value for taxation purposes. Values have gone up significantly over the past few years. You may be shocked at the percentage increase proposed by your town or city.
We frequently receive emails or calls requesting a copy of a completed appraisal report, often from the homeowner. Sometimes we can send the report to them, and sometimes we cannot, even if they are the homeowner or the buyer. Why is this?
The “Client” specified on an appraisal report is the party who hired the appraiser for the assignment – regardless of who owns the property or pays the fee. The client can be an individual, a group, or an entity such as a lender or attorney.
If an appraisal was ordered by a lender and completed on your home for a loan you are pursuing, the appraiser cannot disclose the report directly to you. Instead, it will go to the lender, and from there they can share the report as needed. In these situations, we direct the homeowner back to their lender contact for the report.
If the appraisal client is “John Smith” and his wife requests a copy, the appraiser can only provide the report directly to John and it is up to him to decide whether or not to share it.
Many homes in the Connecticut market area have at least one fireplace, typically for aesthetic purposes more so than supplementing heat during the colder months.
In an appraisal, fireplaces do usually add some value as long as they are well-maintained, functional and aesthetically appealing.
If a fireplace is not functional then it most likely will have little or no value in the appraisal. It may even negatively impact the home’s value, as it could be a maintenance issue instead of an amenity.
When comparing wood-burning fireplaces to gas fireplaces to pellet stoves, there are differences to consider. Any of these as functional amenities can add value to a home, but it varies depending on local market demand, convenience factor, and climate. A wood burning fireplace adds ambiance but requires regular chimney sweeping and maintenance; a gas stove is usually lower-maintenance and offers instant heat, but can be costly to install; a pellet stove is considered more environmentally conscious, but will not operate during a power outage and usually has a high maintenance requirement.
Depending on the situation, a full interior appraisal of a property is not always necessary. Some refinance loans or low-risk loans may only require a “drive-by” or “exterior only” appraisal to be completed. This is also a common inspection request for foreclosure proceedings.
An exterior appraisal relies on data gathered from observations of the exterior of the property (typically viewed from the street), along with information obtained through public records (zoning information, tax records, assessor cards, and other public data). Neighborhood characteristics and comparable sale data are also utilized as in all other reports.
On the homeowner’s end, exterior appraisals can be seen as more convenient since they don’t require an appointment time. This often can help move the process along faster as the appraiser can go at their first available time.
However, there are limitations and it is not unheard of for a homeowner to request a full interior inspection following an exterior only because the information that was publicly available to the appraiser was not fully reflective of updates/improvements made to the home and therefore, could change the estimated value.
Since the appraiser is relying only on what they can see from the outside of the home and what is reflected on public records in regards to gross living area, updated features and permits pulled, assumptions often need to be made about the condition and features of the interior of the house. This may result in a value that is lower or higher than what would have been estimated if the appraiser had access to the interior of the property.
One of the common things a homeowner looks at when trying to figure out their home value is what the house next door sold for, or what Zillow reports. While these methods are not completely off, depending on the situation they are not a reliable way to determine your current home value.
First, let’s talk about Zillow. Appraisers do not consider the values estimated here to be reliable because it lacks the ability to take into consideration information gleaned from a physical appraisal. Renovations, wear and tear, unique property features and upgrades can’t be assessed accurately via an algorithm. Zillow’s algorithms rely on generalized data points and market trends, which means it may not accurately depict the market of a particular local area or marketability of a particular type of property.
Bottom line, Zillow may be able to give you a very rough, ballpark style estimate of what your home is worth, but it is not 100% accurate and could swing much higher or lower, depending on the circumstances.
Looking at what the house next door sold for seems like the next best place to get an estimate, and a lot of the time it’s not a bad idea! If it’s next door you share a similar location and neighborhood market which is a good start. But there are other aspects to consider.
Appraisers use comparable sales that are similar to your home in varying ways:
The house next door may end up being very similar to your own, and therefore a good comparable sale. However, if it has drastic differences in some of the areas listed above, it may not be viewed as a truly comparable sale.
This week we celebrate the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence! We wish you all a happy and safe 4th of July. When an appraiser makes a valuation of a property, one of the most important pieces of information is the effective date. While this date is often current (usually the same as the date the inspection actually took place), there are times when it is necessary to use a prior or future date to get an accurate analysis for the situation requiring the appraisal. Although the inspection date won’t change, appraisers can value a property based on a date in the past using prior market data and only utilizing the improvements (or generally, the condition of the property, whether that was improved or requiring work) up to that point in time. Reasons for this can vary:
To determine the condition of a property during that time, the appraiser will utilize homeowner-supplied information if possible, old MLS listing photos/data if applicable, town records like permits filed/closed, and even Google satellite data! The appraiser will then use comparable closed sales that occurred in the appropriate time range to determine the reasonable estimate of value. A prospective appraisal is a valuation completed as of a future date. This is typically done when the property’s value is contingent upon work to be completed (construction, major repairs). The appraiser will analyze the proposed work to be completed and utilize the hypothetical condition of completion to estimate a value. The use of assumptions is typically unavoidable, like assuming the likeliness of the work being completed successfully or potential market changes. The appraiser has to take all of this into consideration when making adjustments. Keep in mind that the “report date” or “date of appraisal” is not the same as the “effective date.” The report date is the specific day the appraiser actually viewed the property, and the effective date is the reflective of the actual date that value was applicable to the property.
An appraisal provides an objective assessment of a property’s market value. For buyers, this ensures they are not overpaying on the property. For sellers, it helps establish the fair market value of their home and gives the opportunity for effective negotiations.
Appraisal waivers are often used to make a competitive offer when trying to purchase a home, especially during times when the competition for homes is fierce due to low inventory and high demand. But before a prospective home buyer decides to waive their right to a home appraisal (and even before a seller decides to list a property!) there are some things to consider: