Attention homeowners in Des Moines and Polk County: Get an Appraisal today!

Here are the top seven reasons Iowa homeowners call on Central Iowa Appraisers:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. Challenge property tax assessments
  3. To lower a mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. To review a different appraiser's report for verification
  6. If property needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To determine the true market value of a property to settle an estate in Polk County or the state of Iowa
Need help deciding the value of your house in or near Des Moines, Iowa? Contact Central Iowa Appraisers.

At Central Iowa Appraisers, we understand the unique needs of a consumer looking for appraisal services. Our regular business clients understand the appraisal process and the customary "products" we deliver to them. As our valued client, we will provide you with extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to understand what we do and how we report our findings.

Pre-listing Services/For Sale by Owner

Since you have an emotional attachment to your own home, it's often very hard to be objective about it. The professional appraisers at Central Iowa Appraisers will tell you what you need to know -- not just what you want to hear. We are objective. A professional appraisal is a very important negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your house will attract many interested buyers. It gives you something tangible to show your buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your house's value, and not just how much you think your house is worth. Potential buyers know that you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be much more likely to give credibility to an expert appraiser's value opinion than yours.

Challenging a property tax assessment

Let's say your house is not appreciating as much as other houses nearby -- your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued. That only means you're paying more taxes than you should. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the faster you take care of a matter like this, the better. A professional appraisal from Central Iowa Appraisers is your best weapon when contesting your property tax assessment.

Need to remove PMI?

An attractive way to save money for homeowners is getting the PMI canceled from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan amount is below 80% of the value of your house. In most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI removed from your loan. We are veterans in helping customers just like you do away with undesirable PMI insurance.

HELOC recently frozen?

If your property is in or near a declining area, your lender may just choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) - even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can be difficult and inconvenient from a cash flow standpoint, and detrimental to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. An appraisal from Central Iowa Appraisers can help you reinstate your HELOC.

Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Would you like a second opinion without the charge and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you need an expert to double-check your appraisal for preciseness? In a field review we will go out and check the subject and comps. 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.

We can also provide a retrospective review of any appraisal report you may have in your possession. Even though most review work is requested by lenders for quality control, homeowners suspecting a prior appraisal wasn't above board are wise to get a second opinion.