Appraisal services for Scranton and Lackawanna County homeowners

See the top seven reasons why PA homeowners order from Paul Votta:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home on their own or using a real estate agent)
  2. To challenge a PA property tax assessment
  3. Remove PMI to reduce a mortgage payments
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. Verify another appraiser's report
  6. If real estate property needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in PA

Own a home in or near Scranton, PA and need help determining the price of it?
Contact Paul Votta.

At Paul Votta, we understand the unique needs of a customer seeking appraisal services. While our typical business clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get an extra level of customer service in the form of an explanation of the process and even special consumer-friendly reporting forms if the assignment allows for them.

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. A professional appraiser is objective and will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. A professional appraisal is a very important negotiating tool once you have an attainable buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your home will attract buyers. The appraisal is something tangible to show your buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's price -- not just how much your home is worth. Potential buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to a qualified appraiser's value opinion than yours.

Appraisals to cancel PMI

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. A fashionable way to save money for homeowners is getting the PMI eliminated from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. Once your mortgage loan is less than 80% of the value of your home, in most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We're veterans in helping homeowners just like you remove unwanted and unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued if your home not appreciating as much as other homes close by. That means you are paying more taxes than you should. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the earlier you take care of things like this, the better off you'll be. When contesting your property tax assessment, getting an appraisal report from Paul Votta is your #1 weapon.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Your lender just may choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your property is in a declining area -- even if your specific property has not declined in value. This can be be unfavorable to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out, and also troublesome from a cash flow standpoint. Paul Votta can help you reinstate your home equity line of credit with efficient appraisal.

We Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Would you wish a second opinion without the charge and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you want a seasoned professional to double-check your appraisal for preciseness? An appraiser from Paul Votta can go out and check the subject and comps in a field review. If you're 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 you may have had in the past. While usually requested by banks, you may need to use this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.