Understanding the Difference Between a Home Inspection, a Home Appraisal and a Tax Assessment

Understanding the Difference Between a Home Inspection, a Home Appraisal and a Tax Assessment

When you’re ready to buy a house, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the purchasing process. Before you step into your new home, you’ll need to make sure to conduct an inspection and an appraisal. As a homeowner, the tax assessment will determine your property taxes. Inspections, appraisals and assessments may sound like the same thing, but they’re actually different processes altogether.

Inspecting Your Home

As part of the closing process, your house needs to be inspected. Hire a provider of property inspections Cleveland to check the structure of your home. This inspector will check the property for damage, defects, termites, hazards and other issues to assess your risk in making the purchase. An inspector works for you and often will invite you to the property to discuss their observations and potential issues. Inspectors may use drones to take photos of the structure as well as explore attics, basements and crawl spaces.  

Appraising Your Home

During the closing process, an appraiser is ordered by the lender or mortgage holder to determine your property’s value. This process usually involves the appraiser examining your home’s interior and exterior structures. He or she will confirm the number of rooms and other physical features of the structure. They will document their findings and verify the size of the home and land. They will also complete a comparative analysis to see what similar homes sold for in the area. They’ll also prepare a final report. 

Assessing Your Home

Your county or local jurisdiction will periodically conduct an assessment to determine your property taxes. This process is less involved than an appraisal. Assessors usually review property data from previous years or make in-person visits to help determine how much you’ll pay in taxes.

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Property inspections, appraisals and assessments may sound like the same thing, but they’re very different processes. A home inspection and home appraisals are part of the closing process and ordered by you and your lender respectively. Your tax assessment is usually completed by your county and may be done every few years.

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