If you are refinancing your mortgage, applying for a home equity loan or selling your home you will most likely need to have your property appraised.  Since your property will be the collateral for the loan you are seeking your lender will want to know how much it’s worth, and to obtain this information they will hire a professional real estate appraiser who is familiar with your local market area.  So how does someone come up with the value of your property?  Is it like a jewelry appraisal where they put on a funny-looking eyepiece and make cooing noises?  Or are they like a used car dealer who simply plugs in the year, condition and mileage into a cost guide?
A real estate appraisal is a process rather than simply a bottom line number.  There are many factors which go into this process, but for purposes of this post I want to focus on the actual appraisal inspection so that you know what to expect when your lender tells you someone will be calling to schedule an appointment.  I fully understand that having someone you do not know come into your most private space, who will have an impact on your ability to obtain a loan, can be intimidating.  I hope that the information below will provide some answers to your questions and ease any tension you may have about your appraisal inspection.
At some point in your loan process, typically after most of the exciting paperwork has been completed, your lender will order an appraisal of your home.  Do not be offended by this gesture or worry that your bank doesn’t trust you, it’s a common practice and is required by most lending institutions.  Even if you have had an appraisal on your property for the same lender in the past they will likely still need to order a new one.  Throughout my 12+ years as an appraiser I have had dozens and dozens of homeowners ask me why they need an appraisal because they just had one done last month/year/decade/etc.  Simply put, an appraisal is an opinion of value of a property as of a specified date, typically the date of the inspection, and because the real estate market fluctuates nearly constantly that opinion of value can be considered irrelevant in a relatively short time.  In addition there are many other factors which can affect the value of a property over a short time period, some good (remodeled kitchen, new deck, updated bathrooms) and some bad (water damage, failed remodeling project, termite infestation).  Because of the evolving nature of real estate values a new appraisal is generally needed to obtain a new loan on a property.
The first thing you should expect in the appraisal of your home is a phone call from an appraiser to schedule an inspection of your home.  In some circumstances you lender may only request an exterior inspection of your home, in which case you will likely not receive a call but may notice a strange car in front of you house taking pictures (on behalf of all appraisers I ask that you not call the police!).  You should expect the appraiser to make all efforts to schedule an appointment which best fits your schedule, but if you cannot be available during typical business hours, say Mon-Fri 8:00-6:00, then you may want to use a little bit of that accrued time off to expedite the process.  The appraiser should be willing to accommodate your schedule but if you feel that he/she is unreasonable you should forward those concerns to your lender.  Please keep in mind, however, that we also have families and a personal life so a little give-and-take on both parties can make the inspection scheduling process acceptable to both parties.
Once the inspection is scheduled there are only a few things you need to do.  Because the appraiser will need to see all areas of the interior and exterior of your house you should be sure he/she has access to the back yard, all interior rooms (no padlocks on bedroom doors!), all areas of the basement and in some cases access to your attic.  The appraiser will probably not need to go into the attic but in some cases it is required so to be on the safe side make sure it is accessible.  Your house does not need to be fully cleaned up but make sure he/she can easily access all rooms – that laundry pile in your teen’s room is ok as long as the door can open and most/all of the floor is visible.  As for the basement, the appraiser will need to see your electric panel and, if applicable, your furnace/boiler, oil tank, hot water tank and any other mechanical systems.
The amount of time the appraiser will be at your house will vary based on the size of your home and other factors, but generally you can expect the appraiser to be there for about 30-60 minutes.  When the appraiser arrives he/she will take pictures of the front and rear of the house and take measurements of the exterior walls of the home.  Please make sure it is safe for the appraiser to walk around your home/property by removing any hazardous conditions, such as broken glass, quarantine any dangerous animals and clearing any snow and ice which may be present on the driveway and/or walkways.  Most appraisers will inform you when they arrive but others will inspect the exterior of the home and property before they let you know they are there.  This can be cleared up during the inspection scheduling process simply by requesting that the appraiser greet you before they begin any inspection of the property.
More.. http://reappraisalblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/appraisal-inspection-appointment-what-should-i-expect/

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