Real estate appraisal services for homeowners in the city of Altoona and Polk County

The top seven reasons IA homeowners call on Connell Appraisals:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. Challenge property tax assessments
  3. Remove PMI to lower their mortgage payment
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review a different appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a IA divorce, when real estate needs to be divided
  7. Determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in Polk county or IA

Need help determining the value of your home in or near Altoona, IA?
Contact Connell Appraisals.

At Connell Appraisals, we understand the special needs of a consumer in need of 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/Pre-Listing Services

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

PMI Removal Appraisals

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. A preferred way to cut costs for homeowners is getting the PMI removed from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan is down below 80% of the value of your house. In most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan. Connell Appraisals is experienced in helping people just like you delete unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenge Polk county's assessment of your property

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if you live in an area that's going down or is not appreciating as much as other houses nearby. That means you are most likely paying more taxes than you should. The earlier you take care of things like this, the better, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. An appraisal from Connell Appraisals is your number one weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Recently got a freeze your HELOC?

If your home is near a declining area, your lender just may decide to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can this be inconvenient from a cash flow point of view, and negative on your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. An efficient appraisal from Connell Appraisals can help you reinstate your HELOC.

We Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Have you just received a copy of your appraisal and you would like to have a seasoned expert double-check it for accuracy or do you need a second opinion without the expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Connell Appraisals offers field reviews where we'll go out and check the subject and comparables in question. Or, if you need it ASAP, we can 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 you with a a retrospective review of any appraisal report you may have had done before. Even though this is typically requested by banks, you may need to exercise this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.