Attention homeowners: Real estate appraisal services for in Waterloo and Black Hawk County

See the top 7 reasons IA homeowners call on Mike Lockey & Associates:

To get a pre-listing appraisal (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
Challenge property tax assessments
Remove PMI to reduce your mortgage payment
Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
Review another appraiser's report for verification
In the case of a IA divorce, where real estate property needs to be divided
To determine the true market value of property in question to settle an estate in IA

Own a house in or near Waterloo, IA and need help deciding the value of it?
Contact Mike Lockey & Associates.

At Mike Lockey & Associates, we understand the special needs of a customer after appraisal services. Our business practices and reporting formats are relatively routine to our business clients like banks, attorneys, and CPAs. But as a consumer,you'll receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to better understand what we do and how we present our findings.

For Sale By Owner/Pre-Listing Services

It's very hard to be objective about your house because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. The professional appraisers at Mike Lockey & Associates will tell you what you need to know -- not just what you want to hear. We are objective. A professional appraisal is a very valuable negotiating tool once you have an interested buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic price to sell at so your house will attract interested buyers. It's something tangible to show your buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your house's value -- not just you saying how much your house is worth. Potential buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be much more likely to give credibility to a qualified appraiser's value opinion than yours.

Need to remove PMI?

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) eliminated from your mortgage loan is a fashionable money saver for homeowners. 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 eliminated from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We are experts in helping clients just like you get rid of unnecessary PMI insurance.

Challenge Tax Assessment

Your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued if you live in a local area that's going down or is not appreciating as much as other houses close to yours. This only means you're paying higher taxes than you should be paying. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the quicker you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be. An expert appraisal from Mike Lockey & Associates is your number one weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Your lender might choose 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 difficult and inconvenient from a cash flow standpoint. Mike Lockey & Associates can provide you with a professional appraisal that will help you reinstate your HELOC.

We Also Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Have you just accepted a copy of your appraisal and you would like to have a seasoned professional double-check it for efficiency or do you desire a second opinion without the charge and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Mike Lockey & Associates offers field reviews where we go out and check the subject and comparables in question. If you need it immediately, 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 report? Mike Lockey & Associates can help with that too. Even though this is usually requested by banks, you may wish to use this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.