When considering buying a house or a commercial building, you may contemplate about plentiful cabinet space in the kitchen, an ample bedroom size, or how renovations may improve the space. If you are selling a home or building, you may daydream about what your next home or your next investment will hold for you. Surely, you will wonder how much your home or commercial building will be worth. The appraisal process however, may not be something high on your list of considerations. It is certainly not one of the most glamorous parts of buying or selling a residential home or commercial building, and yet if appraisals disappeared tomorrow, the real estate market would come crashing down. So if you're about to buy or sell a home or commercial building and know little about appraisals, it's time to change that because no credible financial institution will lend you money without an appraisal.
Ryan & Ryan Insurance Brokers’ client of the month for November, Hudson Valley Appraisals, can lend a hand and help to improve your knowledge of the appraisal process. President Mike Bernholz started Hudson Valley Appraisal in 1983. Mr. Bernholz provides real estate appraisal and appraisal management services for commercial and residential clients. He and his team of appraisers are one of the most sought after in the greater Hudson Valley. They work with most of the established lenders in the Hudson Valley region of New York and around the country. Hudson Valley Appraisal specializes in unique and complex property valuations and offers valuable services for homeowners, lenders, attorneys and government entities. In addition, Hudson Valley Appraisals provides consulting and appraisal services pertaining to conservation easements, eminent domain and condemnation, avigation rights, property damage claims, and tax certiorari proceedings.
For those new to the appraisal process, it lets a bank or lender know what the loan collateral will sell for in a worst-case scenario. In other words, to go with an extreme example, the bank doesn't want to be stuck with a home or commercial building they lent the borrower a million dollars for but can only sell for $100,000 because that's all it is worth. The buyer shouldn't want that either, of course. So appraisals exist for good reason, but what can make them a tense time for all parties is that they are conducted after you've negotiated a price, agreed to buy or sell the house and signed the contract. So it's in everyone's best interest that the appraisal is close to the price that both seller and buyer have agreed on.
As an appraisal management company, Hudson Valley Appraisal Management Services provides the services necessary for lenders and mortgage brokers to comply with the Appraiser Independence Requirements. Hudson Valley Appraisal expertise in appraisal management services means clients can be assured that appraisals ordered through Hudson Valley Appraisal will be in compliance with the AIR.
Mr. Bernholz supervises a team of 18 full-time real estate appraisers and 3 full time administrative staffers. Appraisers who have an average of 20 years’ worth of experience in real estate appraisal in offices in Ulster and Delaware Counties, knowledgeable personnel is always on hand to receive requests and answer any questions throughout the business day.
In turn, when it comes to his extensive insurance portfolio, Mr. Bernholz’s looks for the expertise and extensive knowledge from Ryan & Ryan Insurance Brokers Inc. Mr. Bernholz has various government contracts that require proof of insurance. These are always dealt with in an extremely timely manner by the customer service staff at Ryan & Ryan. Mr. Bernholz states, “There are very few people as responsive and knowledgeable as Bob Ryan. Bob does what he says he is going to do.”
