Appraisal services for Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia homeowners

The top 7 reasons why MD, DC and Virginia homeowners order from Colen & Associates:

Find the right listing price (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
Challenge a property tax assessment
To reduce your mortgage payments by removing PMI
To reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
Verify another appraiser's report
If real estate property needs to be divided because of a divorce
To determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate

Need help deciding the price of your house in or near Maryland?
Contact Colen & Associates.

At Colen & Associates, we understand the particular needs of a consumer seeking appraisal services. Our usual business clients understand the appraisal process and the customary documents we provide. Being a consumer that ordinarily doesn't look at appraisals on a regular basis,you will receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to more clearly understand what we do and how we present the results of our analysis.

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

It's very hard to be objective about your own house because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. Professional appraisers, like the ones at Colen & Associates, will be objective. We will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. A professional appraisal is very valuable as a negotiating tool once you have an attainable buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your house will attract buyers. It's something concrete to show the buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your home's price, and not just how much your home is worth. Interested buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be far more likely to give credibility to an experienced appraiser's value estimation than yours.

Need to cancel PMI?

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) canceled from your mortgage loan is a preferred way to save money for homeowners. Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan is below 80% of the value of your house. In most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI removed from your loan. Colen & Associates is experienced in helping customers just like you remove unnecessary PMI insurance.

Challenging property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued if your home not appreciating as much as other homes nearby. This only means you're probably paying higher taxes than you should be paying. The quicker you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. Getting an appraisal report from Colen & Associates is your perfect weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

HELOC recently frozen?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender might make the decision to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your house is in or near a declining area. Not only can this be difficult and inconvenient from a cash flow point of view, but it can be detrimental to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Colen & Associates can provide you with a professional appraisal that will help you reinstate your home equity line of credit.

Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Do you need a seasoned expert to double-check your appraisal for accuracy, or do you desire a second opinion without the added expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? We can go out and check the subject and comparables in a field review. If you're in a rush, we'll 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? Colen & Associates can help you with that. Even though this is typically requested by banks, you may desire to use this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your property.