An appraisal is a professional, unbiased, 3rd party opinion of what your home is worth.

If you are buying or refinancing a home, the bank will order an appraisal. Also people order appraisals themselves: to see what their home is worth during a divorce, when someone passes away, to find out how much to sell a home for, or to dispute a property tax appraisal.

The appraiser will measure the home & assess the specifications of the home inside and outside. He will evaluate the sales price of similar homes in your area and determine a value for your home.

A home appraisal is determining the value of a home. A home inspection is evaluating the condition of the home & pointing out things that need to be repaired or may cause problems in the future.

Fair market value is a price that a buyer and a seller agree on for a piece of real estate.

If you have repairs or remodeling already planned, you may want to do that beforehand, but there is nothing that you have to do before an appraisal.

The appraiser will need access to get inside the home or any detached buildings.