How to Get an Online Real Estate Appraisal

Real estate appraisals can be a hassle. Files have to be put in order, the house has to be picked up and cleaned and all those small repairs have to be taken care of before the property is considered acceptable to view. In addition, all the documentation on the property must be located, sorted and provided to the real estate appraiser. Online real estate appraisals, however, eliminate the need for all the worry and stress associated with pre-appraisal stress. Once the necessary data has been input into the system, it can provide you with an appraisal report on almost any property.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Locate a website that performs online real estate appraisals. Zillow and is one of the top websites offering online appraisals. Other good websites are Electronic Appraiser, ValuesInfo and US Home Value (see Resources below).

2. Sign up for an account if necessary. Some online real estate appraisals will require that you get a username and password in order to protect the privacy of your appraisal report.

3. Enter as much information about the property as the website will allow. Some online real estate appraisal websites will simply require you to input the address and ZIP code of the property in question, while others will want information on condition of the house, the surrounding houses, any repairs that need to be made and what amenities, such as a large parking garage, swimming pool or specialized building materials the house possesses.

4. Remember that a high-end online real estate appraisal will require much more information about the house than a lower-end one. An online real estate appraisal site that asks for simply the zip code or the address will not be as accurate as a site that also wants the age of the house and the year of its most recent renovation.

5. Send the information in. Double-check the information to make sure all of it is correct to get the most accurate report possible. The website will either provide an instant evaluation of the property, or send it to you via email.

6. Get the proper software to view the online real estate appraisal once you get it. While most websites will provide the report in a format readable by a word processor program or in an html format, some may send the evaluation as a pdf file.

7. Review the real estate appraisal report when it is received. Make sure the information appears to be in order.

8. Compare the online real estate appraisal to an appraisal report composed by a real estate representative who has performed an inspection in person. While getting an online real estate appraisal is convenient and fast, getting a real estate appraisal in person can take into account factors that an online appraisal can simply not consider.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the company performing the online real estate appraisal is licensed. Even though an online real estate appraiser will eliminate the need to plan ahead, clean and repair the building and dig out all the titles and certifications the property possesses, lack of knowing whether or not its results will be acceptable can cancel out any convenience.

Resources

• Discover your property's value on Zillow.
• Get an online appraisal from ValuesInfo.
• Find property values at Electronic Appraiser.
• Go to US Home Value for an appraisal.