Attention homeowners: Real estate appraisal services for in Burlington and Des Moines County

Here are the top reasons IA homeowners need Kathy Potter:

  1. To get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home themselves or using an agent)
  2. To challenge a IA property tax assessment
  3. Remove PMI to reduce your mortgage payment
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. To review a different appraiser's report for verification
  6. If real estate property needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. Determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in Des Moines county or IA

Do you own a house in or near Burlington? Do you need help determining the price of your real estate?
Contact Kathy Potter.

At Kathy Potter, we understand the particular needs of a homeowner looking for appraisal services. Our business practices and reporting formats are familiar to our business clients like banks, attorneys, and accountants. As our client, you will receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to better understand what we do and how we document the results of our analysis.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO)/Pre-Listing Services

It's very hard to be objective about your own home because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. Professional appraisers, like the ones at Kathy Potter, are objective. We'll tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. A professional appraisal is very crucial as a negotiating tool once you have an attainable buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your property will attract buyers. The appraisal is something tangible to show your buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your property's price -- not just you saying how much you think your house is worth. Interested buyers assume you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be far more likely to give credibility to a qualified appraiser's value report than yours.

Appraisals to remove PMI

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. An attractive money saver for homeowners is getting the PMI eliminated from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. Once your mortgage loan amount is down below 80% of the value of your property, in most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI removed from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We're veterans in helping folks just like you remove unnecessary PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued if your home is not appreciating as much as other properties close by. That means you are paying more taxes than you should. The sooner you take care of things like this, the better, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. Getting an appraisal from Kathy Potter is your chief weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

HELOC recently frozen?

If your property is in a declining area, your lender may just choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can be be negative on your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also annoying from a cash flow standpoint. Kathy Potter can provide you with a professional appraisal to help you reinstate your home equity line of credit.

We Also Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Have you just gotten a copy of your appraisal and you would like to have a seasoned appraiser double-check it for preciseness or do you want a second opinion without the added cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? In a field review we will go out and check the subject and comparables in question. Or, if you need it in a rush, we can provide desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide a retrospective review of any appraisal report you may have had in the past. While usually requested by banks, you may need to exercise this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.