Nobody tells you when the appraisal will happen.
On a mortgage, the lender orders it and picks the appraiser. You pay for it. The visit is a small part of the work.
Three things cause most delays: access, coverage and revision requests. Below is each step from loan application to finished report, and who controls it.
Six steps, and who controls each one
The borrower pays for the appraisal. The lender orders it. Those are two different parties, which explains much of the confusion about timing.
The loan gets far enough along
An appraisal is usually ordered once the file is moving and the property is under contract or the refinance is underway. Ordering it earlier risks paying for a report on a deal that dies.
LenderThe order goes out
Lenders usually order through an appraisal management company instead of calling an appraiser. The AMC keeps the lender at arm's length from the valuation.
Lender or AMCAn appraiser accepts it
The job is offered to appraisers licensed in that state who cover that area. If nobody accepts, it gets re offered. You never see this step, and delays often start here.
AppraiserThe visit is scheduled
Now somebody calls you, or the listing agent, or the tenant. Whoever holds the keys sets the pace here.
OccupantThe inspection
Measuring, photographs, room count, condition and quality. Usually the shortest part of the whole process.
AppraiserResearch, writing, review
Comparable sales, adjustments, reconciliation, then a quality review before it reaches the lender. This part takes the longest, and it happens after the appraiser leaves.
Appraiser, then reviewerWhere the time goes
Access
A tenant who will not confirm, a locked gate, a dog nobody warned about, a vacant property with no lockbox code. Access problems cost days, not hours.
Coverage
Rural and unusual property takes longer because fewer appraisers cover it and comparable sales are farther apart. A complex property is also harder to appraise.
Revision requests
A reviewer or underwriter asks for clarification, and the report goes back. The cause is often simple, such as county records that do not match what is on site.
Two of those three are partly in your control. Confirm access early, and make sure what the county has on file matches reality.
When the choice of appraiser is yours
Not every appraisal runs through a lender. Private work, estates, divorce and pre listing valuations are ordered directly, so the person who needs the report picks who writes it.
Pocket Appraisal is a national residential appraisal service. If you need a valuation outside of a mortgage, you can schedule a home appraisal with Pocket Appraisal.
Common questions about timing
Who schedules the appraisal appointment?
Can I choose my own appraiser on a mortgage?
Why does the report take longer than the visit?
Can I speed it up?
- Who orders the appraisalWhy the lender picks the appraiser, who pays, and when you are free to choose.
- The appraiser has not calledWhat is usually happening behind the silence, and who to ask first.
- Who needs to be home for the visitOwners, tenants, pets and vacant homes on inspection day.
- Appraisal timing in a purchase contractHow the appraisal fits inside contingency deadlines.
Waiting and not sure why?
Tell us roughly where things stand and we will point you at the right step in the sequence.