Attention homeowners in Durham and Durham County: Get an Appraisal today!

See the top 7 reasons why NC homeowners hire Sam Elliott Appraisals:

  1. To get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home on their own or using a real estate agent)
  2. To challenge a NC property tax assessment
  3. To reduce their mortgage payments by removing PMI
  4. To reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a NC divorce, where property needs to be divided
  7. Determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in NC

Do you own a home in or near Durham? Do you need help deciding the value of your real estate?
Contact Sam Elliott Appraisals.

We at Sam Elliott Appraisals understand the unique needs of a consumer seeking appraisal services. Our business practices and reporting formats are familiar to our business clients like lenders, lawyers, and CPAs. As our client, you'll receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to better understand what we do and how we report our findings.

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

Since you have an emotional attachment to your house, it's often very hard to be objective about it. Professional appraisers, like the ones at Sam Elliott Appraisals, are objective. We will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. A professional appraisal is very important as a negotiating tool once you have an attainable buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract many interested buyers. It gives you something tangible to show your buyer. The appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's value, not just you saying how much you think your house is worth. Potential buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to an expert appraiser's value opinion than yours.

Need to cancel PMI?

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. A fashionable way to save money 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 amount is less than 80% of the value of your property. In most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan. We are experienced in helping customers just like you rid themselves of unwanted and unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Lets say your house is not appreciating as much as other properties nearby -- your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued. This means you're going to pay higher taxes than you should be paying. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the quicker you take care of things like this, the better off you'll be. An expert appraisal from Sam Elliott Appraisals is your #1 weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

HELOC recently frozen?

If your home is close to a declining area, your lender just may choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. Not only can this be troublesome from a cash flow viewpoint, but it can be unfavorable to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Sam Elliott Appraisals can help you reinstate your HELOC.

Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Would you like a second opinion without the expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you need a veteran appraiser to double-check your appraisal for efficiency? An appraiser from Sam Elliott Appraisals can go out and check the subject and comparables in a field review. 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.

Need a retrospective review of an appraisal? We can help with that too. Even though this is usually requested by banks, you may wish to utilize this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.