A rehab project usually needs two numbers: what the property is worth today, and what it will be worth once a defined scope of work is complete. Those are different opinions developed under different assumptions, and the second one is only ever as good as the scope it rests on.
What this assignment is scoped to do, stated before you engage.
As-is value is what the property is worth in its current condition, today. As-repaired value is what it is worth as of that same inspection date, valued as though the specified work were already complete. It is not a forecast of where the market goes next. Both are commonly needed on the same project, and they are developed differently.
The as-repaired figure is a subject-to-completion assignment, developed under a stated hypothetical condition and disclosed as such in the report. That disclosure is not boilerplate. It is what tells any later reader exactly which assumptions the number depends on.
The scope of work in writing, either an itemized list or a contractor bid, plus plans or drawings where the layout changes.
An as-repaired opinion built on a vague scope is worth very little, because the conclusion inherits every ambiguity in the description. Vague in, vague out. The half hour spent writing the scope down properly is the highest-return half hour in the assignment.
Three ways, consistently. The scope grows after the appraisal and the number is quietly treated as though it still applies. The scope contains items the market does not actually pay for, so cost is assumed to equal value when it frequently does not. Or the finished product is specified above what the neighborhood supports, and the last twenty thousand dollars of work returns nothing.
I will tell you when I see the third one. Advising you on that is part of the assignment, and it is usually the most valuable sentence in the report.
Before you finalize a scope, I will walk the house with you and give you my read on what this market pays for: which finishes return their cost here and which do not, what curb appeal is worth on this street, what a buyer will need in place for FHA, VA, USDA or conventional financing, or a cash sale, and what the property does not need at all. This is about what a buyer's financing will require. I am not a VA fee panel appraiser and perform no VA assignments.
I advise, you choose, and the scope comes back to me in writing. The report then values that scope rather than the one either of us had in mind.
Vacant land and acreage are their own discipline and I take that work. Divisibility, percolation and septic suitability, road frontage and access, utilities, and former farmland moving toward a different highest and best use.
These assignments take longer and they should. Comparable data is thinner, the adjustments are larger, and highest and best use is a real analysis rather than a line in a form.
If you are buying regularly, tell me at the outset. Assignments run more smoothly when I already understand what you build, what finish level you work to, and which submarkets you operate in. It shortens the conversation on every subsequent property.
Who does the work. I have been in the business since 1997 and licensed as an appraiser since 2000. I have been a field appraiser and Chief Review Appraiser at two national appraisal management companies, I ran an appraisal desk reviewing other appraisers' work, and I have done litigation work. That is what I bring to your house and to the report.
The walk-through. Most appraisers photograph a house and leave without speaking to anyone. I walk it with you, tell you what I am looking at and why it moves the number, and answer your questions on the spot.
I measure the house myself, to the ANSI standard, and never use the county's square footage. From those measurements I draw a professional floor plan sketch, and it is yours to keep and use at no extra charge. Most owners have never been given one.
Your privacy. The report goes only to you and anyone you name. It is not submitted to any data portal, it is not reported to the county, it does not affect your tax assessment, and it never appears in MLS or the public record.
No need to clean. Whether the dishes are done does not touch the value. I am appraising the structure and the quality of its finishes. Interior photographs are taken in every room because a credible report requires them, and personal photographs, religious items and anything personal are blurred or cropped out.
A narrative, not a form. Most people get a six to ten page checkbox form. The numbers are there but the reasoning is not: you cannot tell why a comparable was chosen or where an adjustment came from. Mine covers the same nuts and bolts with the reasoning written out, held to the standard that another appraiser could follow the work and arrive where I did.
It is what the property is worth as of the inspection date, valued as though the specified work were already complete, as distinct from as-is value in its current condition. It is not a forecast of a future market. Both are commonly needed on a rehab project, and the as-repaired opinion rests on a scope of work in writing, either an itemized list or a contractor bid.
An as-repaired opinion depends on a defined scope of work, so I need the plans and the budget to develop one.
Yes. That's a subject-to-completion assignment, developed under a stated hypothetical condition and disclosed as such in the report.
The conclusion is only as good as the scope of work it's built on.
You will reach Scott directly. Expect questions about intended use and effective date before a fee is quoted.
Discuss an investor assignment