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

Here are the top 7 reasons why MI homeowners hire West Michigan Appraisal:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home themselves or using a real estate agent)
  2. To challenge a MI property tax assessment
  3. To reduce your mortgage payments by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review a different appraiser's report for verification
  6. If real estate needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To settle an estate in MI by determining the true market value of real estate in question

Do you own a house in or near Manistee? Do you need help deciding the value of your real estate?
Contact West Michigan Appraisal.

We at West Michigan Appraisal understand the particular needs of a consumer after appraisal services. While our typical business 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.

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

It's very hard to be objective about your own home because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. Our professional appraisers at West Michigan Appraisal are objective. We won't just tell you what you want to hear, we will tell you what you need to know. A professional appraisal is a crucial negotiating tool once you have a likely buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your house will attract many interested buyers. The appraisal is something concrete to show the buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your house's price, and not just how much you think your home is worth. Potential buyers know that you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be much more likely to give credibility to a qualified appraiser's value judgement than yours.

Appraisals to remove PMI

An attractive way to cut costs for homeowners is getting the PMI canceled 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 down below 80% of the value of your property. In most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan. We are qualified in helping people just like you rid yourselves of unneeded and unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued if you live in a region that's declining or is not appreciating as much as other homes nearby. This only means you are paying higher taxes than you should be paying. The sooner you take care of a matter like this, the better, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. When challenging your property tax assessment, getting an expert appraisal from West Michigan Appraisal is your chief weapon.

Recently got a freeze your HELOC?

Your lender just may make the decision to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your property is close to a declining area -- even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can this be annoying 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. West Michigan Appraisal can provide you with an expert appraisal that will help you reinstate your home equity line of credit.

Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Would you prefer a second opinion without the added cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you need an expert to double-check your appraisal for preciseness? West Michigan Appraisal offers field reviews where we'll go out and check the subject and comparables in question. Or, if you're in a hurry, 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 done before. While typically requested by banks, you may desire to take advantage of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.