PMI Removal Appraisals, Short Sale and Foreclosure Appraisals, Bankruptcy, Divorce, Trusts, Financial Plans, Estate and Date of Death Appraisals, Tax Assessment Appeal Appraisals, and Bail Bond Appraisals
PMI REMOVAL APPRAISALS
Lenders typically require Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) on homes purchased with less than a 20% down payment. Yet many homeowners who carry PMI mistakenly pay the premium long after it is no longer needed, which can quickly add up to thousands of dollars in useless premiums.
When you’ve attained 20% equity in your home, you can force your lender to cancel your Private Mortgage Insurance. (Keep in mind that most lenders will consider your payment history before cancelling PMI insurance.) Equity can be reached through:
- home appreciation
- improvements made to the home
- paying down the principal balance of the mortgage
- a combination of the three
Simply request to your lender, in writing, that your PMI be canceled, and provide the lender with proof of sufficient equity over 20%. Most lenders will require a professional real estate valuation by a certified appraiser. Hosking Appraisal Group, Inc. is a licensed, certified residential appraiser in the state of California, and performs PMI Appraisals throughout the Inland Empire.
(Homes purchased with a down payment of at least 20% are typically considered to have enough equity to cover any potential losses by the lender, so PMI is generally not required.)
SHORT SALES/FORECLOSES
Accurately assessing the fair market value of homes in short sale and foreclosure status is critical to the goal of reducing the inventory of non-performing real estate owned (REO) properties.
Integrity is essential when working with all parties involved in the short sale and foreclosure process. At Hosking Appraisal Group, Inc. we appreciate the circumstances of homeowners in default. We also address and fulfill the property valuation needs required by HUD, FHA, banks with REO holdings, law firms, mortgage lenders, loan service providers, and other financial institutions that make residential real estate loans. Providing detailed opinions of fair market value as well as quick disposition value for mortgage banks and lenders, allows for accurate determination of potential equity positioning or charge-off liability. We have valued thousands of short sale and foreclosure properties, and possess the knowledge, experience, and professional integrity you can trust.
BANKRUPTCY or DIVORCE
Accurate, professional, well-supported real property appraisals are crucial when calculating the value of your home for a bankruptcy or divorce settlement.
Bankruptcy cases often require asset collateral valuations for creditors and debtor-in-possession financings, and large discrepancies in a home’s value can create looming problems. Homes which are valued too low may subject a client to the objections of trustees, and could result in the court asking for permission to seize the home. If a home’s value is listed too high, clients could be excluded from a Chapter 7 option or may be required to pay back more than necessary in a Chapter 13 filing. So in the interest of their clients, attorneys often recommend they contact a local real estate appraiser to obtain an accurate assessment of their home’s current fair market value.
Divorce cases often involve date discrepancies and retrospective appraisals. In divorce settlement cases, a home is typically listed for sale and profits are split, or one of the parties buys out the other. For asset division purposes, in order to insure that a home’s valuation is accurate, well-supported and defensible in court, attorneys often advise that clients hire a professional real estate appraiser to accurately calculate their home’s fair market value.
Hosking Appraisal Group is highly trained and experienced in home valuations for bankruptcy and/or divorce settlement.
TRUSTS and FINANCIAL PLANS
When developing solid, well-strategized portfolios for clients, estate and financial planners often rely heavily on the services of professional real estate appraisers.
Because real estate is oftentimes the largest asset within a client’s holdings, it is typically at the center of a trust or financial plan. Hosking Appraisal Group, Inc. performs thorough, well-supported single property and/or multiple property valuations for financial and estate planning, in addition to trusts, tax planning, senior and retirement planning, and asset update purposes.
ESTATE and DATE OF DEATH
A professional real estate appraisal is well-advised when completing the settlement process on an estate transfer of ownership due to death or inheritance.
During the estate settlement process, either an attorney or tax accountant typically orders an appraisal, or recommends that the executor or a family member contact a local real estate appraiser to obtain current valuation of the home.
Retrospective Appraisal, often referred to as a ‘Date of Death Appraisal’, allows for home valuation based on a prior date (usually the owner’s date of death).
Current Value Appraisal determines current market value when selling or settling between heirs.
Hosking Appraisal Group accurately and expeditiously assesses home values for estate settlement purposes, regardless of the time which has passed between a death and estate transfer proceedings.
TAX ASSESSMENT APPEALS
There is no doubt that too many homeowners in California are paying too much in property tax assessments. Are you one of those homeowners?
The past several years have seen a significant downturn in California’s home prices. Yet a large percentage of homes in the Inland Empire and beyond are being taxed based on the high property values which were common prior to the housing market decline. In some cases, all that is needed to reduce your property tax assessment is a simple phone call. But many homeowners may still feel their property is over-valued and the tax assessment remains too high. In such cases, hiring a certified residential real estate appraiser can substantially help.
Tax assessment appeals can be complicated and full of bureaucratic loopholes, and hiring an experienced real estate appraiser as an independent third-party professional can be crucial to the outcome. Hosking Appraisal Group, Inc. is committed to performing thorough, independent valuations to help determine if your property is overvalued and your property tax assessment is too high.
BAIL BOND APPRAISALS
When determining collateral for bail or immigration bonds, a professional property appraisal is typically required.
Bail bond appraisals are often of a highly urgent nature when real estate is offered as security or collateral. At Hosking Appraisal Group, Inc. we conduct property valuations in bail or immigration bond situations with a sharp sense of urgency, privacy, and discretion. We do our best to reschedule and reorganize calendars in order to meet the immediate real estate appraisal needs of persons and families needing bond surety.
Hosking Appraisal Group, Inc. 