December 02, 2006
Value of my House
I've lived in my house for 2 years now and did a little renovating when I bought it; but not a lot. I do wonder what my house value is now though. When I was 17, I worked for a real estate appraiser for 5 years and know a little about the business. If I had a Fannie Mae Form, I could probably just do my own appraisal. Even after I went to work for my current employer; I still did part-time work for another appraiser, so I still have my knowledge of real estate.
On 
, you can use this tool for a quick and easy way to find out the essential information on any property in the US.
So, I tried it. I wasn't impressed. It told me the year my house was built and the square footage of it but it said "Unable to determine value". Then it wanted me to get a detailed appraisal, which didn't cost; but it still couldn't determine the value of my house.
I even tried my mom's address and still couldn't determine the value. If you own your own home, please try this and let me know if it works for you. If I get enough comments that say it doesn't work; I may write the company.
NOTE: After I wrote this, I read the FAQ section and it states:
" Why is the estimated value range too low or too high? One explanation of this is that you live in a non-disclosure state. A non-disclosure state means that that state does not allow sales data to be on public record. Therefore, we estimate the sales price using other data indicators. These indicators will not be as accurate of having an actual sales price".
Tennessee was included in the list of Non-disclosure state. So, if you live in TN, it doesn't work for us.
