Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Appraisals in Los Angeles, Orange & Ventura Counties

By- Darius G. Carter
A1 Los Angeles Home & Commercial Appraisals

We stand ready to assist with bankruptcy appraisals and foreclosure appraisals throughout the city and county of Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, and the Southern California region in general. We are very much aware of the impact the mortgage crisis has had on individual homeowners as well as lenders. You can count on A1 Los Angeles Home & Commercial Appraisals to quickly and competently perform bankruptcy and foreclosure appraisals. All you need to do is give us a call. I’d like to discuss both kinds of appraiser work.

Bankruptcy Appraisals

The process of a bankruptcy requires the debtor to create an expense report illustrating the net worth of their assets. In order to get a true reading of the value of their property, an appraisal is necessary. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to get the appraisal.

The bankruptcy process has several deadlines. Missing one deadline may postpone the court date and delay resolution. It is important to order a bankruptcy appraisal as soon as possible. I will work with your schedule to complete the report well before any deadlines. A simple call to us will keep the process on schedule and complete the requirements necessary for resolution.

Foreclosure Appraisals

The foreclosure process is a long and complicated one. When a property is in foreclosure and mortgage payments hit the 90- to 120-day late mark, a lender typically requires a foreclosure appraisal. A foreclosure appraisal gives the lender the current value of the property.

This information could also be useful to the homeowner when in negotiations with the lender during the foreclosure process. Homeowners, banks and lenders need to know the difference between “fair market value” and “quick disposition value” in order to determine the potential equity or charge-off liability of the property. I can provide phased appraisal views of fair market value. In other words, the appraisal can show what the house is worth if properly marketed compared to As-Is, As-Repaired and/or Short Sale conditions.

Foreclosures hit record levels in the recent financial crisis and left banks and lenders with a very large number of REOs (Real Estate Owned — A property becomes an REO when the bank or lender has completed the foreclosure process and the property is completely owned by the bank or lender). Banks and lenders must then sell the foreclosed properties.

“Real Estate Owned” or REO

The aftermath of the huge real estate boom that ended in mid-2006 has caused many changes in the real estate market. For example, if an REO home for sale has been on the market over 90 days, then an updated foreclosure appraisal from an independent appraiser is required to determine a sale price. The updated foreclosure appraisal is required to show market conditions that may have changed since the original foreclosure appraisal.

Owners of property in foreclosure present special challenges. The events that may have lead to the foreclosure (i.e., an unaffordable adjustment of the loan payment, the loss of a job, divorce, death, bankruptcy, medical issues, etc.) can put the homeowner on the defensive. Homeowners may be unwilling to allow an inspection of the property. If the property has been abandoned, care of the home may have been neglected for some time. In some cases, the home may have been intentionally damaged. I have the experience and the sensitivity to deal with the special dynamics of a foreclosure appraisal.

When an REO is on the market, the bank can lower the sale price, which can lead to a false impression of home values in that area. Many homeowners, and buyers too, go to websites that employ automated value modeling. You want to know the value of a property, and so you type in an address, and it gives you back a number. Frequently, that number includes transactions outside of the normal marketed seller-buyer dynamic. They usually include bank-to-bank transfers and heavily-discounted REOs, and these will distort home values in a neighborhood.

In either case, whether you need a bankruptcy appraisal or a foreclosure appraisal, I can give you a quality, well-researched valuation of the property.

Click here to order an appraisal using an interactive PDF form.