We provide fast and accurate appraisals in Illinois and Iowa.  In Illinois we cover Rock Island, Henry, Whiteside, and Mercer counties.  In Iowa we cover Scott, Clinton, Ceder, and Muscatine counties. 

A few of our top cities we do business in are; Davenport, Bettendorf, Blue Grass, Le Claire, Clinton, Long Grove, Park View, Camanche, Rock Island, Moline, East Moline, Silvis, Colona, Geneseo, Atkinson, Annawan, Cambridge, Alpha, Viola, Aledo, Coal Valley, Sherrard, Port Byron, Rapids City, Fulton, Morrison, and that is just to name a few.

We provide the following services;

Single Family, Two to Four Family, Condition & Marketability, Final Inspections, Appraisal Updates, FHA, and USDA Appraisasls

Real Estate Appraisals: Top 5 things to know about Appraisals

Buying real estate is the most important financial decision many of us might ever make. Whether it's a primary residence, an additional vacation property or a rental fixer upper, purchasing real property is a detailed financial transaction that requires multiple parties to see it through.

To learn more about appraising, click here to see a short video or call us today to talk about your specific property.


You're probably familiar with the parties taking part in the transaction. The most known entity in the transaction is the real estate agent. Then, the lender provides the money necessary to finance the deal. The title company makes sure that all requirements of the sale are completed and that the title is clear to transfer from the seller to the buyer.

So what party is responsible for making sure the value of the property is in line with the amount being paid?   This is where the appraiser comes in.   We provide an unbiased estimate of what a buyer might expect to pay - or a seller receive - for a parcel of real estate, where both buyer and seller are informed parties. A professional Illinois licensed appraiser from Real Estate Appraisal Source will ensure you as an interested party are informed.

1. Inspecting the subject property

To determine an accurate status of the property, it's our responsibility to first conduct a thorough inspection. We must physically see aspects of the property, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the location, and so on, to ensure they truly are present and are in the condition a typical buyer would expect them to be. The inspection often includes a sketch of the floor plan, ensuring the square footage is correct and conveying the layout of the property. Most importantly, we identify any obvious features - or defects - that would have an impact on the value of the property.

Once the site has been inspected, we use two or three approaches when determining the value of real property: sales comparison and, in the case of a rental property, an income approach.

2. Cost Approach

This is where we use information on local construction costs, the cost of labor and other factors to ascertain how much it would cost to replace the property being appraised. This value commonly sets the upper limit on what a property would sell for. It's also the least used predictor of value.

3. Analyzing Comparable Sales

Appraisers become very familiar with the neighborhoods in which they work. We innately understand the value of specific features to the homeowners of that area. Then, the appraiser looks up recent transactions in close proximity to the subject and finds properties which are 'comparable' to the real estate being appraised. By assigning a dollar value to certain items such as upgraded appliances, extra bathrooms, an additional living area, quality of construction, lot size, we adjust the comparable properties so that they more accurately portray the features of subject property.

  • If, for example, the comparable has an extra half bath that the subject doesn't, the appraiser may deduct the value of that half bath from the sales price of the comparable home.
  • But, in the case where the subject has something such as an extra half bath that a comparable doesn't have, the appraiser might add the value of that bath to the comparable property.
At Real Estate Appraisal Source, we are experts in knowing the value of particular items in Moline and Rock Island County neighborhoods. The sales comparison approach to value is most often given the most weight when an appraisal is for a home purchase.

4. Valuation Using the Income Approach

A third way of valuing approach to value is sometimes employed when a neighborhood has a reasonable number of rental properties. In this case, the amount of income the property produces is factored in with other rents in the area for comparable properties to derive the current value.

5. The Bottom Line

Analyzing the data from all approaches, the appraiser is then ready to stipulate an estimated market value for the property in question. The estimate of value on the appraisal report is not always the final sales price even though it is likely the best indication of what a property could sell for in an open market. There are always mitigating factors such as the seller's desire to get out of the property, urgency or 'bidding wars' that may adjust an offer or listing price up or down. Regardless, the appraised value is typically employed as a guideline for lenders who don't want to loan a buyer more money than the property would likely sell for in an open marketplace. At the end of the day: An appraiser from Real Estate Appraisal Source will help you discover the most fair and balanced property value, so you can make profitable real estate decisions.