Need an appraisal in Pleasant Hill or Contra Costa County?

The top 7 reasons why CA homeowners call on Catherine Kelly:

Pre-listing appraisals (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
Challenge a property tax assessment
To cut your monthly mortgage payment by removing PMI
Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
To review a different appraiser's report for verification
If real estate needs to be divided because of a divorce
To determine the true market value of property in question to settle an estate in Contra Costa County or the state of CA

Do you own a home in or near Pleasant Hill? Do you need help deciding the value of your real estate?
Contact Catherine Kelly.

At Catherine Kelly, we understand the unique needs of a consumer after appraisal services. Our typical business clients understand the appraisal process and the standard "products" we deliver to them. Being a person not in the real estate business that most likely doesn't see an appraisal every day,we'll be sure you get extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to more clearly understand what we do and how we report our findings.

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

It's very hard to be objective about your own home because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. Professional appraisers, like the ones at Catherine Kelly, will be objective. We'll tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. In addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your home will attract many interested buyers, a professional appraisal is very important as a negotiating tool once you have an interested buyer. It's something concrete to show your buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your house's price, and not just how much you think your house is worth. Interested buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to an expert appraiser's value assessment than yours.

PMI Removal Appraisals

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) canceled from your mortgage loan is a popular way to cut costs for homeowners. Once your mortgage loan is down below 80% of the value of your house, in most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We are seasoned in helping folks just like you rid themselves of unnecessary PMI insurance.

Challenging a property tax assessment

If you live in an area that is declining or not appreciating as much as other properties close to yours, your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued. That only means you are paying more taxes than you should. The sooner you take care of things like this, the better off you'll be, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. Getting an expert appraisal from Catherine Kelly is your #1 weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender might just make the decision to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your house is near a declining area. 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. Catherine Kelly can provide you with a professional appraisal that will help you reinstate your HELOC.

Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Would you prefer a second opinion without the charge and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you desire a seasoned appraiser to double-check your appraisal for precision? Catherine Kelly offers field reviews where we go out and check the subject and comparables in question. If you need it in a rush, we'll provide you with a desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

Need a retrospective review of an appraisal? We can We can assist you While usually requested by banks, you may need to take advantage of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.