Friends and Clients —
I want to tell you about a quick and easy way to save hundreds of dollars when you’re refinancing or taking out a mortgage.
I’m talking about a little-known option called an appraisal waiver.
In a nutshell, when a lender decides to give you a loan, they want to have a good idea of what your property is worth.
The typical way they do this is by sending out an expert to examine the property.
This appraisal typically costs between $270 and $750. As you can probably guess, it’s you, the borrower, who is on the hook for paying this fee.
The appraisal waiver, on the other hand, is simply a way to skip this fee.
Instead of sending an expert to visit your home (or future home) in person, the lender uses some fancy data and calculations to figure out what your home is worth, without any inspection.
This has been an option for a long time, but it’s jumped significantly in popularity over the past several months because of the pandemic.
After all, without an in-person inspection, there’s less chance of the virus spreading.
Plus, an appraisal waiver saves you the money, time, and hassle of having an appraisal expert visit (assuming you’re refinancing).What’s more, it could even result in a higher appraised value for your home, which would mean better terms for your new mortgage.
What if the virtual appraisal comes back with a number that’s less than you hoped for?
In that case, you can still request an in-person appraisal, or simply deal with another lender. You’re not bound in any way.
You can see now why this is such a risk-free and easy way to shave off a few hundred dollars of fees when refinancing your home or taking out a new mortgage.
Of course, it helps to have an idea of what your home is currently worth.
If you want to get a good start, take a look at the following home value calculator, which is based on recent Raleigh sales:
Enter your address here to find out what your home is currently worth
If you are looking to refinance (or you’re thinking of buying a new home), give me a call at (919) 412-3475. I work with a couple of mortgage brokers whom I know, trust, and can recommend. They can help you get the best rate, and, assuming everything goes to plan, they can even get you an appraisal waiver so you can avoid that extra fee.
Of course, if you have any other questions about the Raleigh real estate market, give me a call. I’m on top of the constantly changing conditions, and I’m here to help.
