Attention homeowners in Birmingham and Shelby County: Get an Appraisal today!

Check out the top seven reasons why AL homeowners need FORREST & ASSOCIATES:

  1. Find the right listing price (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. Challenge property tax assessments
  3. To cut a mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. If real estate property needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To settle an estate in AL by determining the true market value of real estate in question

Own a house in or near Birmingham, AL and need help deciding the value of it?
Contact FORREST & ASSOCIATES.

At FORREST & ASSOCIATES, we understand the special needs of a consumer in need of appraisal services. While our usual business clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get extra 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

Since you have an emotional attachment to your own house, it's often very hard to be objective about it. A professional appraiser is objective and 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 price to sell at so your home will attract interested buyers. The appraisal is something tangible to show your buyer. The appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your home's value, not just you saying how much your home is worth. Potential buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to a qualified appraiser's value judgement than yours.

Need to remove PMI?

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. A fashionable way to cut costs 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 home. In most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan. We're experts in helping homeowners just like you dismiss unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if your house is not appreciating as much as other properties nearby. That means you're probably paying more taxes than you should. The sooner you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. An expert appraisal from FORREST & ASSOCIATES is your chief weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

Recently got a freeze your HELOC?

Your lender might just choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your property is in or near a declining area -- even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can this be annoying from a cash flow standpoint, and damaging to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. FORREST & ASSOCIATES can help you reinstate your HELOC.

Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Do you need a seasoned expert to double-check your appraisal for precision, or do you need a second opinion without the expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? An appraiser from FORREST & ASSOCIATES can go out and check the subject and comparables in a field review. Or, if you need it in a rush, we can provide desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

Do you need a retrospective review of an appraisal report? FORREST & ASSOCIATES can help with that too. Even though this is usually requested by banks, you may desire to take advantage of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.