Despite the coronavirus and safety considerations, homeowners still can work with appraisers to help provide a full picture of their property, the Appraisal Institute (AI) said in a release on its website.

“The coronavirus pandemic certainly has created a new situation for appraisers, particularly in the residential market,” AI President Jefferson L. Sherman said in the release. “From the beginning of the pandemic, the Appraisal Institute has advised its professionals and other appraisers to protect their health, and that of their families. For now, drive-by and desktop appraisals are the new normal for many residential appraisers.

“Because of the coronavirus, many appraisals are now conducted with limited or even no in-person interaction between the appraiser and homeowner,” Sherman added. “Homeowners can help appraisers understand the interior condition by providing a complete set of photographs, along with information regarding recent repairs and replacements made by the homeowner – including items, dates and costs.”

Sherman further noted that if a homeowner has access to a property survey (land drawing with building outline and dimensions), they should provide that to the appraiser as well. Additionally, he said appraisers might be asking more questions in these limited situations, so understand that they are gaining knowledge that will help their work be as thorough and professional as possible.

Because many appraisers aren’t conducting in-home inspections during state-ordered stay-at-home restrictions, they have taken advantage of the benefits that technology provides, AI said.

“Appraisers are relying on hardware such as drones or applications such as Zoom to see the exteriors and interiors of properties they’re appraising,” Sherman said. “These technologies likely will continue to some degree after the pandemic is over. Appraisers are carefully examining technologies to assess fraud risks and potential liabilities before relying on them.

“For example,” he added, “if the appraiser is considering interior photographs supplied by the borrower or property owner, the appraiser will assess their confidence level that the photographs are a true representation of the property, including the risk that the pictures are not actually of the subject’s interior. The lack of access to a property’s interior is an example of the challenges many appraisers currently face. However, appraisers welcome information from homeowners that would assist with the development of credible assignment results.”