Appraisal services for Altoona and Polk County homeowners

Here are the top 7 reasons why IA homeowners order from Skinner Appraisal Services:

  1. Find the right listing price (whether they're selling the home themselves or using a real estate agent)
  2. To challenge a IA property tax assessment
  3. Remove PMI to reduce their monthly mortgage payment
  4. To reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a IA divorce, when real estate property needs to be divided
  7. To settle an estate in Polk county or IA by determining the true market value of property in question

Need help deciding the value of your house in or near Altoona, IA?
Contact Skinner Appraisal Services.

At Skinner Appraisal Services, we understand the unique needs of a customer looking for appraisal services. While our usual 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 own home because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. Our professional appraisers at Skinner Appraisal Services are objective. We won't just tell you what you want to hear, we will tell you what you need to know. A professional appraisal is very valuable as a negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your house will attract many interested buyers. It's something tangible to show the buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's value -- not just how much you think your home is worth. Potential buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to an experienced appraiser's value judgement than yours.

Need to remove PMI?

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) removed from your mortgage loan is a preferred way to cut expenses for homeowners. Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan is down below 80% of the value of your house. In most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan. At Skinner Appraisal Services, we're experienced in helping customers just like you get rid of undesirable PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if you live in a local area that's going down. This only means you're going to pay higher taxes than you should be paying. The sooner you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. An appraisal report from Skinner Appraisal Services is your perfect weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

Was your 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 house is near a declining area. This can this be difficult from a cash flow standpoint, and bad for your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Skinner Appraisal Services can help you reinstate your HELOC.

Do You Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Would you like a second opinion without the cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you want a veteran appraiser to double-check your appraisal for accuracy? In a field review we'll go out and check the subject and comps. If you need it in a rush, we'll provide desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

Do you need a retrospective review of an appraisal report? Skinner Appraisal Services can help with that too. Even though this is typically requested by banks, you may want to exercise this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.