What can a divorce appraisal tell you?
An appraisal gives you an independent opinion of what the home was worth on an agreed date. You can use that value when discussing a sale or a buyout. Questions about ownership, each spouse's legal share and settlement terms still belong with your attorney or mediator; the appraisal does not decide them.
What should you settle before the visit?
Before the visit, explain which property you need valued, why you need the report and who will use it. Share any written instructions. Your attorney or mediator can help confirm the date the value needs to describe, whether that is today or an earlier date. Also agree on who is hiring the appraiser, who can arrange access and how everyone who is meant to receive the report will get it.
If you and your spouse are starting with different numbers, write down what each one describes before ordering. The Snohomish County Assessor explains that assessed value reflects January 1 of the assessment year. An online estimate may describe a different date again. Ask your attorney or mediator which date the divorce appraisal needs; the property-tax date does not choose it for you.
What happens during the appraisal?
During the visit, the appraiser records the home's size, layout, condition and features as part of the work you agreed on. Afterward, the appraiser researches comparable sales and the market as it stood on the date being valued. The report explains how that evidence supports the value, along with the assumptions and limits of the work. The visit is not a home inspection to investigate defects.
What if you need a value for an earlier date?
If you need to know what the home was worth in the past, help the appraiser see what it was like then. Dated photographs, repair invoices, earlier listings and records of additions can all help. Point out changes made since the date being valued. A kitchen renovated afterward should not be treated as though it was already renovated on that earlier date.
For an older house in the historic residential area north of the riverfront commercial district, make a simple timeline of additions and renovations. A photograph from before an addition and an invoice showing when the work finished can help explain what existed on the earlier date. You do not need a complete archive to make the first call. Tell the appraiser which records you have and where the gaps are.
How is value different from equity?
A home's value is one part of the equity discussion. You may also need mortgage records, information about other liens and advice about transaction costs. Take the appraisal to your attorney or mediator so they can help work through those questions. The value alone does not calculate what either person must receive.
What if you have questions about the report?
If something in the report looks wrong, explain the specific factual concern and share records that support it. For a sale you think should be considered, provide the address and say how the home compares with yours. You can ask how the appraiser considered that evidence. If you need a second appraisal, a review, a deposition or testimony, discuss the work and cost separately rather than assuming the original fee covers it.