Need an appraisal in Richmond or Contra Costa County?

See the top 7 reasons why CA homeowners order from Robert Sutherland:

To get a pre-listing appraisal (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
To challenge a CA property tax assessment
To lower their mortgage payments by removing PMI
Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
Verify another appraiser's report
In the case of a CA divorce, when real estate needs to be divided
Settle an estate in CA by determining the true market value of property in question

Do you own a home in or near Richmond? Do you need help determining the price of your real estate?
Contact Robert Sutherland.

At Robert Sutherland, we understand the particular needs of a homeowner looking for 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.

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

Since you have an emotional attachment to your house, it's often very hard to be objective about it. Our professional appraisers at Robert Sutherland 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 very important as a negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your property will attract many interested buyers. It gives you something concrete to show the buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your property's price, and not just how much you think your house is worth. Potential buyers know that you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be much more likely to give credibility to a professional appraiser's value conclusion than yours.

PMI Removal Appraisals

A preferred way to save money for homeowners is to get the PMI removed from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan amount is less than 80% of the value of your home. In most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan. At Robert Sutherland, we're seasoned in helping clients just like you remove unneeded and unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenge Contra Costa county's assessment of your property

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if your home is not appreciating as much as other properties close by. This means you are paying higher taxes than you should be paying. The faster you take care of things like this, the better, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. Getting an appraisal from Robert Sutherland is your best weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Recently got a freeze your HELOC?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender just might decide to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your house is near a declining area. This can be be bad for your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also inconvenient from a cash flow standpoint. Robert Sutherland can help you reinstate your home equity line of credit with a professional appraisal.

We Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Have you just accepted a copy of your appraisal and you would like to have a seasoned professional double-check it for preciseness or do you want a second opinion without the added expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Robert Sutherland offers field reviews where we'll go out and check the subject and comps. Or, if you need it immediately, 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 want to take advantage of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.