Need an appraisal in Mandeville or Saint Tammany County?

Here are the top reasons LA homeowners use Stephen Alvarez:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether you're using an agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. Challenge a property tax assessment
  3. To reduce a mortgage payments by removing PMI
  4. To reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a LA divorce, where real estate needs to be divided
  7. To determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in Saint Tammany county or LA

Do you own a house in or near Mandeville? Do you need help deciding the value of your real estate?
Contact Stephen Alvarez.

We at Stephen Alvarez understand the special needs of a customer in need of appraisal services. While our typical business clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get extra 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 probably have an emotional attachment to it. Our professional appraisers at Stephen Alvarez are objective. We won't just tell you what you want to hear, we'll tell you what you need to know. A professional appraisal is a very important negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract interested buyers. It's something tangible to show the buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's price -- not just you saying how much you think your house is worth. Interested buyers know that you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to an accomplished appraiser's value estimation than yours.

PMI Removal Appraisals

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) removed from your mortgage loan is an attractive way to cut expenses for homeowners. Once your mortgage loan is less than 80% of the value of your house, in most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. Stephen Alvarez is veterans in helping homeowners just like you do away with unnecessary PMI insurance.

Challenging property tax assessments

Lets say you live in a region that is going down -- your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued. That means you're probably paying more taxes than you should. The sooner you take care of a matter like this, the better, since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period. Getting an appraisal report from Stephen Alvarez is your number one weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

If your house is near a declining area, your lender might choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can this be troublesome from a cash flow standpoint, and damaging to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Stephen Alvarez can help you reinstate your HELOC.

We Also Provide Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Would you wish a second opinion without the added cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you desire a seasoned professional to double-check your appraisal for precision? We can go out and check the subject and comparables in a field review. If you need it ASAP, we'll provide desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

Need a retrospective review of an appraisal? We can help you with that Even though this is usually requested by banks, you may need to make use of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your property.