Newbie ques. re: appraisals and market value

Sorry for asking such rudimentary questions but I have a couple questions about appraisals and market value.

What is the best (profitible) way to determine market value?

Do I have any flexibility in who does the appraisal for purposes of an equity loan? If there is any flexibility (i.e. banks, realtors, tax assessors) who should I use?

The short of it is that I’d like to know how I can get an appraisal that a bank will accept for an equity loan.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Howdy PrezS:

The bank will handle the appraisal. Some have on staff appraisers and others need to use an appraiser from an approved list. These are appraisers who have done work for them in the past or who have submitted an application to do work for the bank including copies of some of their work. Even if you have a recent appraisal the bank will probably hire their guys to either review yours or just order another. No way to win getting the appraisal ahead of time.