Yes, an appraisal is the only way to determine what your home is worth if your loan is not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac eligible for Harp 2 Refinance.

Rewind the clock a couple of years, Sonoma County homeowners had very little equity many were even upside down as real estate sales were sluggish and the demand for housing was at an all-time low. Since then homeowners have accumulated more home-equity as a more exuberant economy has emerged. Jobs are starting to come back, unemployment is continuing to fall and housing demand has increased threefold. Many who didn’t have any home equity before now have a chance to get out of their high interest rate loan or arm set to adjust.

So pay for an appraisal? Yes so long as you can follow the paper plan.A good lender will want to make sure you can qualify before ordering an appraisal.

Here’s what we mean. Apply with a mortgage lender first, and provide them your supporting financial documentation for a preliminary qualification review. You don’t want to shell out good money for a home valuation and then have a problem with income later on- granted that could happen anyway, but chances mitigated doing a preliminary qualification review. Once it’s determined by the lender you will qualify, then it would make sense to pay for an appraisal and move forward in the loan process. Expect an appraisal to be approximately $450-$475 with most lenders for primary homes. Expect upwards of $650 for investment property mortgages.

Considering mortgaging a primary home? How about an investment property or second home? Whichever it is, start today by getting a complementary mortgage rate quote.