Appraisal services for Franklin and Macon County homeowners

The top seven reasons NC homeowners use Kristen Smith:

  1. Pre-listing appraisals (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. Challenge a property tax assessment
  3. To cut your monthly mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. To reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Verify a different appraiser's report
  6. If real estate needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To settle an estate in NC by determining the true market value of property in question

Need help deciding the price of your home in or near Franklin, NC?
Contact Kristen Smith.

We at Kristen Smith understand the special needs of a customer after appraisal services. While our typical business clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get extra service in the form of an explanation of the process and even special consumer-friendly reporting forms if the assignment allows for them.

Pre-listing Services/For Sale By Owner (FSBO)

It's very hard to be objective about your house because you most likely have an emotional attachment to it. Our professional appraisers at Kristen Smith are objective. We won't just tell you what you want to hear, we'll tell you what you need to know. A professional appraisal is a very valuable negotiating tool once you have an interested buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your house will attract interested buyers. It's something tangible to show the buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your property's price, and not just you saying how much your house is worth. Potential buyers assume you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to an experienced appraiser's value estimation than yours.

Appraisals to remove PMI

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) canceled from your mortgage loan is a fashionable money saver for homeowners. Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan amount is below 80% of the value of your home. In most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan. We are qualified in helping people just like you get rid of unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenging Macon county's assessment of your property

Lets say you live in an area that is going down -- your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued. This means you are probably paying higher taxes than you should be paying. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the quicker you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be. An expert appraisal from Kristen Smith is your perfect weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

HELOC recently frozen?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender might just make the decision to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your home is close to a declining area. This can this be inconvenient from a cash flow point of view, and damaging to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Kristen Smith can help you reinstate your home equity line of credit with a professional appraisal.

Do You Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Would you prefer a second opinion without the added expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you need a veteran appraiser to double-check your appraisal for precision? An appraiser from Kristen Smith can go out and check the subject and comps in a field review. Or, if you're in a hurry, we can provide you with a desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide you with a a retrospective review of any appraisal you may have had in the past. While usually requested by banks, you may need to take advantage of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.