Real estate appraisal services for homeowners in the city of Mission Viejo and Orange County

The top 7 reasons CA homeowners use Michele Hamilton:

  1. Pre-listing appraisals (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. To challenge a CA property tax assessment
  3. Remove PMI to cut a mortgage payment
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
  5. Verify another appraiser's report
  6. If real estate property needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To determine the true market value of property in question to settle an estate in Orange County or the state of CA

Do you own a home in or near Mission Viejo? Do you need help deciding the value of your real estate?
Contact Michele Hamilton.

We at Michele Hamilton understand the unique needs of a customer seeking appraisal services. Our business practices and reporting formats are relatively routine to our business clients like lenders, attorneys, and accountants. As our valued client, you'll receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to understand what we do and how we present our conclusions.

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

It's very hard to be objective about your home because you most likely have an emotional attachment to it. A professional appraiser is objective and will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract interested buyers, a professional appraisal is very important as a negotiating tool once you have a likely buyer. The appraisal is something concrete to show your buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your home's price -- not just how much your house is worth. Potential buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be more likely to give credibility to a seasoned appraiser's value estimation than yours.

Appraisals to remove PMI

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) removed from your mortgage loan is a fashionable money saver for homeowners. Once your mortgage loan amount is down below 80% of the value of your home, in most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We are veterans in helping homeowners just like you get rid of unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenging property tax assessments

If you live in a local area that is going down or not appreciating as much as other homes close by, your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued. This only means you're most likely paying higher taxes than you should be paying. The quicker you take care of things like this, the better, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. Getting a professional appraisal from Michele Hamilton is your best weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Your lender might just make the decision to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your home is in a declining area -- even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can be be damaging to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also inopportune from a cash flow point of view. Michele Hamilton can provide you with an expert appraisal to help you reinstate your HELOC.

Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Would you wish a second opinion without the added cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you want an expert to double-check your appraisal for precision? An appraiser from Michele Hamilton can go out and check the subject and comparables 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 you with a a retrospective review of any appraisal report you may have had in the past. While typically requested by banks, you may desire to take advantage of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.