Real estate appraisal services for homeowners in the city of Stillwater and Washington County

See the top seven reasons MN homeowners need Penfield, Inc.:

  1. Find the right listing price (whether they're selling the home themselves or using a real estate agent)
  2. Challenge a property tax assessment
  3. To reduce your mortgage payments by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
  5. To review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a MN divorce, when real estate property needs to be divided
  7. To determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in Washington County or the state of MN

Own a house in or near Stillwater, MN and need help determining the price of it?
Contact Penfield, Inc..

At Penfield, Inc., we understand the special needs of a homeowner after appraisal services. While our usual 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.

For Sale By Owner/Pre-Listing Services

It's very hard to be objective about your own house because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. The professional appraisers at Penfield, Inc. 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 attainable buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your property will attract buyers. It gives you something concrete to show your buyer. The appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your property's value, not just how much you think your home is worth. Interested buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be more likely to give credibility to a seasoned appraiser's value estimation than yours.

PMI Removal Appraisals

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. A fashionable way to cut expenses for homeowners is to get the PMI removed from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. Your monthly payments will go down once your mortgage loan amount is less than 80% of the value of your property. In most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI removed from your loan. We are experienced in helping people just like you remove unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenge Tax Assessment

Lets say you live in a local area that's declining -- your local tax assessor may have your house overvalued. This means you're most likely paying higher taxes than you should be paying. 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. When challenging your property tax assessment, getting an appraisal report from Penfield, Inc. is your #1 weapon.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

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

Need Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services?

Would you like a second opinion without the expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? Or do you need an expert to double-check your appraisal for efficiency? An appraiser from Penfield, Inc. can go out and check the subject and comps in a field review. Or, if you need it immediately, we can 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. While typically requested by banks, you may need to take advantage of this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your property.