Appraisal services for Cedar Rapids and Linn County homeowners

Here are the top 7 reasons IA homeowners need Optimum Appraisal:

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

Need help deciding the value of your home in or near Cedar Rapids, IA?
Contact Optimum Appraisal.

At Optimum Appraisal, we understand the particular needs of a homeowner after appraisal services. While our usual clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get an extra level of customer service in the form of an explanation of the process and even special consumer-friendly reporting forms if the assignment allows for them.

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

Since you have an emotional attachment to your own home, it's often very hard to be objective about it. Our professional appraisers at Optimum Appraisal are objective. We won't just tell you what you want to hear, we will tell you what you need to know. In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract many interested buyers, a professional appraisal is very crucial as a negotiating tool once you have an attainable buyer. It's something concrete to show your buyer. The appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your property's value, not just you saying how much you think your house is worth. Potential buyers know that you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to an expert appraiser's value conclusion than yours.

Appraisals to remove PMI

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) canceled from your mortgage loan is an attractive money saver for homeowners. Once your mortgage loan 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, which will make your monthly payments go down. Optimum Appraisal is seasoned in helping homeowners just like you get rid of unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenge a property tax assessment

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if you live in a region that's going down. That only means you're going to pay more taxes than you should. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the quicker you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be. When challenging your property tax assessment, getting an expert appraisal from Optimum Appraisal is your #1 weapon.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender just might choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your house is in a declining area. This can be be destructive to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also unsuitable from a cash flow point of view. Optimum Appraisal can help you reinstate your HELOC.

Do You Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Do you need a seasoned expert to double-check your appraisal for verity, or do you desire a second opinion without the added cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? We can go out and check the subject and comps in question in a field review. Or, if you need it immediately, we can provide desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide a retrospective review of any appraisal you may have had done before. While typically requested by banks, you may desire to employ this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.