How to Read a Property Tax Appraisal Form

The end result of a real estate appraisal is an appraisal report, also known as a property tax appraisal form. Like most forms the general public is unfamiliar with, they can be daunting and difficult to read, at least initially. With a little practice, however, reading a property tax appraisal form can be as easy as reading a book.

Instructions

1. Know the eight types of property tax appraisal forms that exist. These are the Fannie Mae Short Form Report, the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, the Individual Condominium Unit Appraisal Report, the Individual Co-operative Apartment Unit Appraisal Report, the Small Residential Income Property Appraisal Report, the Short Form Commercial Appraisal Report, and the Brief and Full Narrative Appraisal Report. Most of these reports are self-explanatory, with the exception of the Short Form Commerical Appraisal Report, which is used when undergoing financial planning, buyouts or bail bonds, and the Narrative Appraisal Reports, which are used for complex commercial property purposes, condemnation reports, and court situations involving commercial property.

2. Study the left-hand side of the property tax appraisal forms. Many of them have black bars filled with vertical writing breaking up the form by topic. This is done for ease of use and makes the form easier to read and process.

3. Read through the description of the property being appraised. This is the area that describes your property, and as such it is an excellent way to become more familiar with the property tax appraisal form. Check the description of the property, the surrounding neighborhood and the improvements made to any buildings on the property, and make sure they are consistent with your own understanding of the area.

4. Seek out the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act addendum. This is a more essay intensive area of a property tax appraisal form, and talks about the scope of the appraisal, the purpose of the appraisal, the estimated time to market the property before it sells, as well as any additional comments. These are presented in a straightforward manner and can be read to further understand the appraisal form.

5. Locate the cost approach section on the property tax appraisal form. This is one of the most important parts, and it's what lenders, brokers and sellers will read first. It will be clearly labeled as "Cost Approach."

Tips & Warnings

• Property tax appraisal forms are intimidating only because of the amount of information contained in them. They are densely packed with information, and handwritten property tax appraisal forms can be harder to understand if the handwriting is difficult to read. However, the information in the form has been arranged very logically and is easy to follow once the initial anxiety has passed.