Attention homeowners in Morgan Hill and Santa Clara County: Get an Appraisal today!

Check out the top seven reasons why CA homeowners hire Benchmark Appraisals:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home themselves or using a real estate agent)
  2. Challenge a property tax assessment
  3. To lower their mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. To reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Verify another appraiser's report
  6. In the case of a CA divorce, when real estate property needs to be divided
  7. Settle an estate in CA by determining the true market value of real estate in question

Own a house in or near Morgan Hill, CA and need help deciding the value of it?
Contact Benchmark Appraisals.

At Benchmark Appraisals, we understand the special needs of a customer looking for appraisal services. While our usual clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get an extra level of customer service in the form of an explanation of the process and even special consumer-friendly reporting forms if the assignment allows for them.

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

Since you have an emotional attachment to your own home, it's often very hard to be objective about it. A professional appraiser is objective and will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. In addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your property will attract interested buyers, a professional appraisal is very valuable as a negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer. The appraisal is something concrete to show the buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your property's price -- not just how much your home is worth. Interested buyers assume you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be much more likely to give credibility to an experienced appraiser's value assessment than yours.

Appraisals to cancel PMI

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) canceled from your mortgage loan is an attractive way to cut costs for homeowners. Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan amount is less than 80% of the value of your house. In most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan. At Benchmark Appraisals, we're experienced in helping customers just like you remove unwanted and unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenge a property tax assessment

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if you live in an area that is declining. This only means you are going to pay higher taxes than you should be paying. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the earlier you take care of a matter like this, the better. An appraisal from Benchmark Appraisals is your chief weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender just may choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your property is close to a declining area. This can this be difficult from a cash flow angle, and bad for your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Benchmark Appraisals can provide you with a professional appraisal that will help you reinstate your HELOC.

We Also Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Have you just been handed a copy of your appraisal and you would wish to have a seasoned appraiser double-check it for accuracy or do you desire a second opinion without the expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? In a field review we will go out and check the subject and comps. If you need it ASAP, we'll provide desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide a retrospective review of any appraisal report you may have had in the past. While typically requested by banks, you may want to employ this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.