At Alpha Appraisal, we help our clients solidify the fair value of their property. Using a combination of our knowledge and our clients’ needs, we can help pinpoint your home's value.
Attorneys, as well as Accountants rely on professional property appraisals when calculating the values for real property. This is particularly important during a divorce because the division of assets for the divorce property settlement needs to be based on the current (actual) Fair Market Value of the property.
If you are concerned that you may be in a negative equity situation with your property (meaning you owe more than your home is worth), it is essential that you know the value of your real estate so that you can negotiate a fair agreement between the parties to the divorce.
Unfortunately, divorce happens, and when they do, assets need to be divided. One of the largest assets for many people is their home. Before a divorce can be finalized, the value of the home needs to be determined by a residential real estate appraisal, and then a decision must be made – does one person get the house (perhaps by buying out the other person), or will the property be sold and the proceeds divided along lines similar to the rest of the division of assets? In Washington, a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser should perform your divorce appraisal in order to obtain an appraisal that will hold up (i.e, be defensible) in court.
Alpha Appraisal is experienced in handling appraisals where the date of the appraisal is different than the date the report is ordered, or the date the appraisal is performed.
For this type of appraisal, called a retrospective appraisal, the effective date needs to match the date of the marriage, or another key date in the past. You may also need to be able to substantiate the value of the property when you purchased it, if the property was originally (or still is) the property of one owner prior to the marriage.
Alpha Appraisal adheres strictly with the Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (USPAP), which means the details we receive that are necessary to perform a property appraisal for a divorce settlement will be handled with discretion and confidentiality.