Properly valuing your home in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy is important. In some situations, your home’s value will determine whether you can keep it, or whether you can strip junior mortgages off. Obtaining a formal appraisal is the most reliable method of valuing your house for a bankruptcy case, as well as the best way to prove to the court that your value, as written in your bankruptcy documents, is accurate. The appraisal must be recent, as market fluctuations dictate value; if you had your home recently appraised for a refinance or for some other reason, you may be able to use the appraisal, but an appraisal more than a couple of months old may not hold water.
Therefore, one can deduce that real estate appraisers perform an integral function in the bankruptcy process. Appraisers usually estimate asset collateral values of secured creditors and debtor-in-possession (DIP) financings; help to identify and value sale/leasebacks, spin-offs, licensing and other re-organization opportunities; and are often involved in structuring and valuing restructured debt and equity instruments as well as assessing and giving their objective opinion on the fairness of proposed re-organization plans.
For these reasons, bankruptcy professionals often need to hire, work with, and rely on experienced real estate appraisers. The experience, credibility and industry reputation of the appraiser are critical to the bankruptcy judge in accepting or rejecting your home valuation as accurate. And because our team of certified and experienced appraisers, here at Appraisal Services, completely understand the complexities involved in assessing the value of a property under these difficult circumstances, we make sure to work smart and hard to provide you with the best possible experience.
Give us a call today at 702-240-2335 with any questions you might have and we will do our best to assist you.