Appraisal Report

What is an appraisal report?

An appraisal report is an independent report about the value of a home according to the guidelines of the NWWI. An official appraisal report is made by an appraiser registered at the NWWI.

A validated appraisal report underpins a house's value, while no fixed price card is attached. An appraisal report contains information about many conditions, such as location, co; no year, home condition, and comparable properties.

Why do you need an appraisal report?

You'll need an official appraisal report to finance a house with a mortgage or to change an existing mortgage. Banks and mortgage companies request a home appraisal to be sure about the collateral of the house. An appraisal report usually is valid for six months, although some banks and mortgage companies only accept reports not older than three months.

The mortgage lender needs certainty about the home value, requesting an independent certified professional. You take on an appraiser for this. An appraiser is an independent and accredited professional who can make a home valuation.

In many cases, the appraiser is also a real estate agent. Yet there is a difference between the two. A real estate agent helps buyers or sellers with a specific property. Therefore the real estate isn't impartial since they represent the interest of their client. Meanwhile, an appraiser is supposed to be impartial and should not be directly involved in the purchase or sale of the property. You can check if your appraiser is independent and certified at the NWWI.

There are two different types of appraisals if you want to know the value of a home:

• Validated appraisal report for a mortgage application
• Unvalidated appraisal report for home valuation or objecting to the WOZ value.

Depending on what you are aiming for, you'll need a validated or unvalidated appraisal report. For example, mortgage companies demand a home appraisal report that the NWWI validates.

What's in the appraisal report?

You'll find the following topics in an appraisal report:

• Location and location factors
• Home condition
• Living area size and volume
• Layout
• Zoning plan
• Land registry check (het Kadaster in The Netherlands)

To make an appraisal report official, the appraiser must physically visit the house to validate its condition and construction. This is often done after the structural inspection. An appraisal can take 45 minutes to as much as an hour, depending on the house size.

If you still need to figure out if an appraisal will give you the results you need, it's easier and faster to check the home value at Walter Living. You can do this online for free. Walter Living's home value reports are based on data and, therefore, objective.

Check what you need. You only need a validated appraisal report when applying for or refinancing a mortgage.

Validated vs. unvalidated appraisal report

The NWWI or the Valuers Union validates an appraisal report. They assess whether the appraiser and the report meet the entry requirements. When the institute approves the appraisal, the appraiser receives a unique code. After the approval, the appraiser cannot modify the report without permission.

You only need a validated appraisal report when applying for or refinancing a mortgage. However, a validated appraisal report comes with extra costs, so check carefully whether you need a validated report.

You can request an unvalidated appraisal report in the following situations:

• You are selling a house: If you are going to sell a house and want to know the market value.
• You are buying a house: If you are going to buy a house and want to know its market value.
• Objection to the WOZ value: If you disagree with the WOZ value and would like to object to it.
• Division: If you want to divide the household when you - for example - split up with a co-buyer. Note: if one of you wants to take over the mortgage, you will need a validated report.
• The heir is apparent: If the homeowner has died and the heir wants to handle the estate.

In brief, the difference between validated and unvalidated appraisal reports are the sorts you need and the additional costs associated with a validated appraisal report.

What does an appraisal report cost?

The price of an appraisal report depends on a couple of factors. These can change depending on the appraiser:

• Appraiser's fee
• Land registry fees
• Municipal charges
• Administration fee
• NWWI fee (in case of report validation)
• VAT

On average, you will pay around € 680,- for an appraisal report. Therefore, it's best to compare the fees of multiple appraisers.

How do you get a valuation report?

Did Walter make the offer for you with the Walter purchase service? Then your Walter Agent will arrange your appraisal report with a licensed appraiser. You can also look for an appraiser in the appraiser register yourself. However, the cost of an appraisal report varies widely. After the application, the appraiser and sales agent visit the home. The appraiser records the house and does additional analysis in the office to determine the home value.

What determines appraisal value?

Recently sold comparable properties determine the value of a house. To determine the value of a house, the reference properties are analyzed on several points, for example:

• Type of home
• Plot size and location
• Living area and volume of the house
• Year of construction
• Surroundings of the property
• State of the home condition of the house
• Sustainability measures

Purchase price higher than the appraised value

Is your offer higher than the appraised value of the house? Then you have to pay the difference yourself—bad luck. The bank uses the appraised value to calculate your mortgage.

Purchase price lower than the appraised value

You are in luck if you have made an offer lower than the appraised value. Your mortgage is calculated based on the lowest amount; the purchase price offers a message interest rate if the appraisal value is higher than the purchase price.

Topics in an appraisal report

To make the best possible estimate of the home value, the appraiser looks at everything that affects the home value. The home value depends on a lot of things, such as:

• Location
• State of the home condition of the property and the quality of the installations
• Reference properties, the basis of the value assessment
• Size, nature, and layout of the property
• Occupancy: Is the property rented out or not?
• Is there a leasehold or ownership of the land?
• Accessibility of the property
• The situation of the housing market
• Energy label

An example of a valuation report.

How long does it take to appraise a house?

The appraisal itself takes an hour at maximum. It depends on how quickly the appraiser can come by. This depends on the region and how busy an appraiser is. Usually, this can be done within two or three business days. First, the appraiser visits the home and notes the most important features. Then the appraiser needs at least another week to work out the appraisal report and a few more days to get the report validated by an external party such as the NWWI.

If you disagree with an appraisal report

Suppose you disagree with the home value in an appraisal report. Then, before the appraiser makes the report official, you can ask for an explanation and sometimes use self-supported data to influence its value.

Solid arguments are essential here because an appraiser is an independent person who must be able to form their judgment. If the above fails, you can also have a second appraisal report drawn up by another appraiser. This will involve additional costs. If the value is different but not more than 15% different from the first report, then that report can be used by the mortgage lender. Should such a second report also yield an undesirable result, a third report can be initiated. Once ready, all three reports are scrutinized by an independent appraisers institute (NRTV), and a property value that supports the two most closely aligned appraisal reports is determined.