About Us:

We are a family business with over 50 years combined experience in commercial and residential real estate appraisals. Whether you are getting ready to sell and want to know how much to ask for your home, are looking to drop PMI, buying a partner out or in need of a portfolio or estate value, we can help you out. We have three real estate appraisers in our office so we can always fit you in. Just drop us a note or give us a call for a quote.

What we do:

We specialize in providing real estate valuation services. Appraisal reports are prepared with the precision that the industry demands and cover all major property types. All of our assignments comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
Consequently, we do not accept assignments with contingencies such as:
The amount of the value opinion predetermined or minimum values.
The attainment of a stipulated result.
The occurrence of a subsequent event directly related to the appraiser's opinions and specific to the assignment results.
Any assignment condition that might encourage, or result in, unethical behavior on the part of the appraiser or third parties.

Coverage Area

We cover the following counties:

Allegan County
Kent County
Ottawa County
Barry

Our Appraisers

Ron Blouw
Todd Blouw
Jordan Blouw

Preparing for the Appraisal

Access

In most cases, lenders want the appraisal to reflect the "as is" status of the property. This means that the appraiser needs to have access to all areas of the home. Otherwise, the appraiser will need to make the appraisal "subject to" certain assumptions about areas the appraiser cannot access and the lender may refuse to make the loan. To facilitate access, you can:

Make sure that all rooms can be entered by the appraiser. For example, if some family members work nights and sleep days, arrangements will need to be made for the appraiser to view all rooms.
Ensure that appraiser has clean and dry access to crawlspaces and attics. Access doors must be opened so that the appraiser can at least conduct a "head and shoulders" viewing.
Garages, outbuildings, storage areas, closets, basements, etc. all must be viewed by the appraiser.
The appraiser will be taking interior and exterior photographs.

Legal and Title Issues

No one wants to delay a transaction over legal or title issues. Things like easements or encroachments are often unapparent to the appraiser but show up later when the lender has the legal work prepared. Depending on the nature of the legal or title issue, the lender may then need to contact the appraiser to consider the impact the issue may have on the appraisal, and the appraiser may even need to revisit the property, adding expense and delay to the process. If you have information on any of the following, please have it available to the appraiser.

Information on easements or encroachments
Copies of permits for additions or recent work on the house
Property survey
Information on the previous sales history of the home
Recent tax bill
Information on private road, if applicable

Other Issues

Generally speaking, the more information that is available to the appraiser, the faster the process will go. If you have any of the following information, please have it available for the appraiser.

Copies of previous appraisals
Copies of home inspections
Copies of current or previous sales agreements
Copies of any current or previous listing agreements
List of any personal property being sold with the home
Plans and specifications for original structure and additions, if applicable
Any other information you feel may be useful to the appraiser