Need an appraisal in Winston Salem or Forsyth County?

Here are the top seven reasons why North Carolina homeowners use Bernabe & Barnett:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home themselves or using an agent)
  2. Challenge Forsyth County's assessment of your property
  3. To reduce your mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (or HELOC)
  5. To review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a divorce in the state of North Carolina, where real estate property needs to be divided
  7. Settle an estate in North Carolina by determining the true market value of real estate
Own a home in or near Winston Salem, North Carolina and need help deciding the price of it? Contact Bernabe & Barnett.

At Bernabe & Barnett, we understand the unique needs of a consumer after appraisal services. Our business practices and reporting formats are familiar to our business clients like lenders, attorneys, and accountants. But as a general consumer, you will receive extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to understand what we do and how we report our conclusions.

For-Sale-by-Owner (FSBO) / Pre-Listing Services

It's very hard to be objective about your home because you most likely have an emotional attachment to it. Our professional appraisers at Bernabe & Barnett are objective. We won't just tell you what you want to hear, we'll tell you what you need to know. In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract many interested buyers, a professional appraisal is a crucial negotiating tool once you have a likely buyer. The appraisal is something concrete to show the buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your home's value, and not just how much you think your home is worth. Interested buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be more likely to give credibility to a seasoned appraiser's value estimation than yours.

Challenging property tax assessments

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 properties nearby. That only means you are probably paying more taxes than you should. 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. An expert appraisal from Bernabe & Barnett is your best weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Need to remove PMI?

A fashionable way to cut costs for homeowners is to get the PMI removed 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 property. In most cases you can apply to your lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan. Bernabe & Barnett is experienced in helping homeowners just like you remove undesirable PMI insurance.

Recently got a freeze to your HELOC?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender might make the decision to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your property is near a declining area. Not only can this be annoying from a cash flow standpoint, but it can be harmful to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Bernabe & Barnett can provide you with a professional appraisal that will help you reinstate your home equity line of credit.

We Provide Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Do you need a veteran appraiser to double-check your appraisal for precision, or do you need a second opinion without the cost and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? An appraiser from Bernabe & Barnett can go out and check the subject and comparables in question in a field review. Or, if you're in a hurry, we can provide desk review and verify as many facts as we can, using online data sources as well as our own files.

We can also provide you with a retrospective review of any appraisal report you may have in your possession. Although most appraisal reviews are commissioned by lenders, homeowners suspecting a prior appraisal wasn't above board are wise to invest in a second opinion.