Home Appraisals: Getting a Home Appraisal

Home appraisals are done whenever you obtain a mortgage to purchase a home or refinance your home loan. Banks and lending institutions require a home appraisal when they provide financing for a home purchaser.

The fee for an appraisal of a home is usually between $200 and $300, although you can find banks that give a free home appraisal that will be included in a "no closing costs" loan.

Home Appraisals

Loan Type

Purchase Refinance with Cash out Refinance

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FICO Score

Superior (780-850) Exceptional (760-779) Excellent (740-759) Very Good (720-739) Good (700-719) Above Average (680-699) Average (660-679) Fair (640-659) Need Improvement (620-639) Poor (350-620)

Loan Amount

$

Points

Up to 0 points Up to 0.5 points Up to 1 points Up to 1.5 points Up to 2 points Up to 2.5 points Up to 3 points

LTV

%

Loan Term

 15-Year Fixed  20-Year Fixed  30-Year Fixed  5-Year ARM  7-Year ARM  10-Year ARM

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The lenders whose rates and other terms appear on this chart are ICB's advertising partners. They provide their rate information to our data partner RateUpdate.com. Unless adjusted by the consumer, advertisers are sorted by APR from lowest to highest. For any advertising partners that do not provide their rate they are listed in advertisement display units at the bottom of the chart. Advertising partners may not pay to improve the frequency priority or prominence of their display. The interest rates, annual percentage rates and other terms advertised here are estimates provided by those advertising partners based on the information you entered above and do not bind. Any lender Monthly payment amounts stated do not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included. Although our data partner RateUpdate.com collects the information from the financial institutions themselves, the accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed. Rates may change without notice and can change intraday. Some of the information contained in the rate tables including but not limited to special marketing notes is provided directly by the lenders. Please verify the rates and offers before applying for a loan with the financial institution themselves. No rate is binding until locked by a lender.

Lender

APR / Rate

Fees / Points

Payment

NMLS #1835285

4.938%

15-Year Fixed

4.750%

$5,000

Includes 0.750 points for $3,000

Lender Fees: $2,000

$3,112 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1283930

License: 01970483

5.445%

15-Year Fixed

5.250%

$5,125

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $1,125

$3,216 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1838

5.455%

15-Year Fixed

5.250%

$5,395

Includes 0.974 points for $3,896

Lender Fees: $1,499

$3,216 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

5.548%

15-Year Fixed

5.375%

$4,512

Includes 0.953 points for $3,812

Lender Fees: $700

$3,242 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1835285

5.887%

30-Year Fixed

5.750%

$6,000

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $2,000

$2,335 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

6.039%

15-Year Fixed

5.750%

$7,500

Includes 0.875 points for $3,500

Lender Fees: $4,000

$3,322 /mo

Next >

NMLS #3030

6.146%

15-Year Fixed

5.990%

$4,000

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $0

$3,374 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1838

6.231%

30-Year Fixed

6.125%

$4,535

Includes 0.759 points for $3,036

Lender Fees: $1,499

$2,431 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

6.289%

30-Year Fixed

6.125%

$7,000

Includes 0.750 points for $3,000

Lender Fees: $4,000

$2,431 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1283930

License: 01970483

6.347%

30-Year Fixed

6.250%

$4,125

Includes 0.750 points for $3,000

Lender Fees: $1,125

$2,463 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

6.477%

30-Year Fixed

6.375%

$4,284

Includes 0.896 points for $3,584

Lender Fees: $700

$2,496 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1835285

6.637%

5-Year ARM

6.500%

$5,700

Includes 0.925 points for $3,700

Lender Fees: $2,000

$2,529 /mo

Next >

NMLS #3030

6.949%

30-Year Fixed

6.875%

$3,000

Includes 0.750 points for $3,000

Lender Fees: $0

$2,628 /mo

Next >

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by ICB, a division of Mortgage Research Center, NMLS #1907, Equal Housing Opportunity. Payments do not include taxes and insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and product details.

During the process of purchasing a home or refinancing a mortgage, a home appraiser will look at the property's condition and recently sold homes in the area to come up with the home's appraised value. The value can determine whether or not you are given a home loan. Most banks will not lend more than 80 percent of the value of a home - this is called the "loan-to-value ratio."

When doing a mortgage refinancing, the value of your home may come in less than you expected and perhaps less than the prior appraisal when you purchased the home or last refinanced. You might not even be able to refinance your loan because of the deceased value.

Example: You purchased your home three years ago at $425,000 with a 20 percent down payment, so your mortgage was $340,000. Fast forward to today, you want to refinance your loan, an appraisal is done and the value of your home is now only $380,000 and your current mortgage principal balance is $335,000. The LTV is 88.15 percent and chances are your lender will not refinance your mortgage.

However, you might still be able to refinance your home loan under the Making Home Affordable program if your loan is being held by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae or has been securitized by either Freddie or Fannie.

When your bank, credit union or lending institution does an appraisal, ask for a copy of the appraisal - they are required to give you one. Check the appraisal and make sure all the information is accurate and complete.  Any improvements you fail to mention will not be included in the overall value of your property.

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