Attention homeowners in Los Angeles and Los Angeles County: Need an appraisal?

Here are the top seven reasons CA homeowners call on Marlene Hirshfield:

To get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home themselves or using an agent)
Challenge a property tax assessment
To lower your monthly mortgage payment by removing PMI
Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
Review another appraiser's report for verification
If property needs to be divided because of a divorce
Settle an estate in CA by determining the true market value of real estate in question

Do you own a house in or near Los Angeles? Do you need help deciding the price of your real estate?
Contact Marlene Hirshfield.

We at Marlene Hirshfield understand the individual needs of a customer looking for appraisal services. Our regular business clients understand the appraisal process and the usual reporting formats. But as a consumer,you can expect extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to better understand what we do and how we present our conclusions.

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

It's very hard to be objective about your own house because you most likely have an emotional attachment to it. Our professional appraisers at Marlene Hirshfield 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 very important 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. The appraisal is something tangible to show the buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your house's price, and not just how much your home is worth. Interested buyers know you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be far more likely to give credibility to a professional appraiser's value opinion than yours.

Appraisals to cancel PMI

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) removed from your mortgage loan is a fashionable way to save money for homeowners. Once your mortgage loan is less than 80% of the value of your home, in most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. Marlene Hirshfield is experienced in helping clients just like you get rid of undesirable PMI insurance.

Challenge a property tax assessment

Your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued if you live in a region that's going down or not appreciating as much as other properties close by. That only means you are going to pay more taxes than you should. The earlier 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. A professional appraisal from Marlene Hirshfield is your number one weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Your lender just may make the decision to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your house is in or near a declining area -- even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can be be negative on your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also unsuitable from a cash flow standpoint. An appraisal from Marlene Hirshfield can help you reinstate your HELOC.

We Also Provide Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Do you need a veteran appraiser to double-check your appraisal for efficiency, or do you need a second opinion without the added cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? In a field review we'll go out and check the subject and comparables. If you need it in a rush, we'll provide you with a 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? Marlene Hirshfield can help with that too. Even though this is typically requested by banks, you may need to exercise this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your property.