The purpose of the appraisal is essential to the lending process and helps protect both the bank and the buyer against lending (or paying) more for a home than its actual market value. Essentially, an appraisal is an estimate of the property’s value provided by a professional appraiser. Unlike the inspection, the appraisal will be performed in private and the buyer and buyer’s agent will not attend. However, it is not uncommon for the listing agent to attend the appraisal to provide their own comparative analysis for the appraiser. The appraiser may take the listing agents analysis into account but will often rely upon their own research to arrive at a final value.
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