What this appraisal is for
It answers one question before you commit: what is this property worth on the open market today?
The report is written for you as the buyer. It is not ordered by a lender and it is not tied to anyone’s commission.
You decide who else sees it. Usually that is your attorney, and sometimes partners or a co-owner.
When it is worth having
The common thread is a price that nobody has tested on the open market.
A private or family sale. Buying from a parent, a sibling or a friend, with no listing and no competing offers. The appraisal shows what the market would have paid.
A house with no agent. A for-sale-by-owner, or an off-market approach to an owner. There are no agent’s comparables, so you have nothing independent to measure the asking price against.
A purchase from an estate. The heirs may have a number in mind, and may disagree among themselves. An independent value gives both sides the same starting point.
An investment property. You want the figure before you commit capital, not after. Two-to-four family buildings are quoted individually.
Buying out a co-owner. Siblings who inherited together, or partners parting ways, need one number neither side chose.
When it usually is not
An ordinary house, listed openly, with several recent sales on the same kind of street, has been tested by the market already.
If a lender is financing it, the lender will order its own appraisal. In that case your money is often better spent on a home inspection.
We would rather say that on the phone than take the fee.
Valued as of today
The effective date is the date of the inspection, in almost every case. The analysis uses sales that have actually closed, not asking prices.
Where your attorney needs a different date, for example the date a contract was signed, say so when you call. It is an ordinary instruction.
Buying from family
A sale below market value to a relative can be partly a gift. The difference between the price and the value is what the IRS looks at.
That is not a reason to avoid the discount. It is a reason to know the value, so your accountant can decide whether a gift tax return is needed.
The report also answers the question other heirs ask years later: was that a fair price?
Buying from an estate
The value we give you is today’s market value. It is not the date-of-death value the estate reports for tax, which is a separate assignment for the executor.
New Jersey holds real property in a decedent’s name until any inheritance tax is dealt with. Your attorney manages that, but it can stretch the timeline to closing.
The written report
A written appraisal with a current effective date, the comparable sales relied on, and every adjustment explained.
It carries a signed USPAP certification and is delivered as a PDF. Fee and turnaround are quoted in writing before any work begins.
If you are inside a contract deadline, tell us the date when you call. It changes the scheduling, not the analysis.
This page describes appraisal practice. It is not legal, tax or lending advice. Contract terms, financing and how a family sale is reported belong with your attorney, lender and accountant.
New Jersey specifics
- Where a real estate licensee prepares a New Jersey residential sale contract, it must carry an attorney review clause giving each side three business days to review it. If you want a value before that window closes, call on the day you sign.
- A New Jersey tax assessment is set as of October 1 of the year before the tax year, and it drifts from market value between revaluations. That is why the State certifies an average ratio for every town. The assessment is not a price guide.
- Real property in a decedent's name in New Jersey cannot be transferred clear until any inheritance tax has been dealt with and the Division of Taxation releases it. Buying from an estate can therefore take longer to close than an ordinary sale.
- A sale to a family member for less than market value can be partly a gift for federal tax purposes. The appraisal documents what the market value actually was.
What you receive
- Appraisal report with a current effective date, or the date your attorney specifies
- Market value conclusion with the comparable sales and adjustments explained
- Condition observations that bear on value, stated as an appraiser's observations and not as a home inspection
- Signed USPAP certification
- Digital delivery to you and, on written instruction, to your attorney or partners
What we need from you
- The property address, or the block and lot
- Access for an interior inspection, arranged with the seller
- The price under discussion and any contract, if one exists
- Whether you are buying the whole property or a co-owner's share
- Any deadline: the end of attorney review, an inspection contingency, or a closing date
- Who else will rely on the report, such as your attorney, partners or co-owners