Need an appraisal in San Francisco or San Francisco County?

Check out the top seven reasons why CA homeowners use Benjamin Yau Appraisal Services:

  1. Pre-listing appraisals (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. Challenge San Francisco county's assessment of your propertyworth
  3. To lower a mortgage payments by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
  5. Review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a CA divorce, when real estate property needs to be divided
  7. Determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in CA

Own a house in or near San Francisco, CA and need help deciding the value of it?
Contact Benjamin Yau Appraisal Services.

We at Benjamin Yau Appraisal Services understand the unique needs of a customer seeking appraisal services. While our usual business clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get extra customer service in the form of an explanation of the process and even special consumer-friendly reporting forms if the assignment allows for them.

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 price to sell at so your house will attract many interested buyers, a professional appraisal is very crucial as a negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer. It's something tangible to show the buyer. The appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's value, not just how much you think your home is worth. Potential buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be more likely to give credibility to an accomplished appraiser's value judgement than yours.

PMI Removal Appraisals

A preferred way to cut costs for homeowners is to get the PMI removed from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan is less than 80% of the value of your home. In most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan. We are qualified in helping customers just like you rid themselves of unneeded and unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if you live in a region that's declining. That means you are most likely paying more taxes than you should. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the sooner you take care of things like this, the better off you'll be. When contesting your property tax assessment, getting an expert appraisal from Benjamin Yau Appraisal Services is your number one weapon.

Recently got a freeze your HELOC?

If your property is in a declining area, your lender may just choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. Not only can this be annoying from a cash flow standpoint, but it can be bad for your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. An efficient appraisal from Benjamin Yau Appraisal Services can help you reinstate your HELOC.

Do You Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Do you need a seasoned appraiser to double-check your appraisal for efficiency, or do you need a second opinion without the charge and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? We can go out and check the subject and comparables 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.

Do you need a retrospective review of an appraisal report? Benjamin Yau Appraisal Services can help you with that. While usually requested by banks, you may want to exercise this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your property.