A divorce typically involves determining the value of all shared assets such as a house, furniture, cars, and any other items that would be considered marital goods. Divorces are never easy and all too often the real estate asset, whether it’s a primary residence or a second home, can be a major point of contention.
Typically, there are two options regarding the primary home: it can be sold and the proceeds divided, or one party can buy out the other. In a best-case scenario, both parties can agree on ordering an appraisal from one professional and depend on that opinion; however, oftentimes both parties will hire their own appraiser. In this case you’re left with a few options:
- If the other party has already obtained their own appraisal, you can accept that value and proceed forward.
- While all appraisers are expected to create an unbiased opinion of value, there can be peace of mind in having two separate opinions of value that arrive at similar conclusions. We can complete a separate appraisal which can avoid conflict between parties if two professional appraisers agree on a value.
- Rather than a full second appraisal being completed, we are able to perform a field review of the other party’s appraisal to make sure no costly errors were overlooked.
All appraisals require a well-supported, professional reporting of the findings, but divorce appraisals can get extra scrutiny and should be defensible in court. When you order an appraisal from RES Appraisals, you can be assured that our team’s combined forty plus years of experience will provide you with professional service, courtesy, and the highest quality appraisal. We also know there is an element of discretion required in a divorce situation, and we are accustomed to working with attorneys and navigating the requirements of the courts and various agencies. The appraisal should be completed by an appraiser with experience in providing both current real estate value as well as retrospective value, as one or both may be required by the courts. If your case were to go to court, the appraiser might be called as an expert witness. It is crucial that the appraiser’s value and adjustments made in the report are clearly explained and supported. Our knowledge and experience in the Upstate of SC means that you can trust us to handle your divorce appraisal.
