West End Appraisals

11/25/2025

I am thankful for having great clients and a lot of work to keep me going strong, year in and year out for the last 21 years. 2025 was a great year for my business, thankful for all who have helped in our success! Happy Thanksgiving! We have a lot to be grateful for.

07/08/2025

Great waterfront property in West Yarmouth for sale! New roof, windows, kitchen, deck, and lots of other updates! Location cant be beat, on a dead end street with a lot of privacy.

68 Bob-O-Link Ln

See more information about this place on Google

07/08/2025

06/05/2025

I was taking photos of a newly built house in Taunton this morning, minding my own business, when I heard a strange scratching noise behind me. I investigated, where I notice this turtle was trying to get into the woods and out of the gravel and hot sun, but the barricade prevented it from moving. I helped out the little guy by getting him into woods! I'm sure he was appreciative. 😄

05/10/2025

A realtor recently asked me, "What is more valuable? A usable garage or a converted garage into finished space?"

I answered, "yes."

It really depends. Some homeowners may have an unexpected(!?) growing family, they have a 2-bedroom house, and they need more bedrooms.....QUICK! A garage is one way of relatively easily and cost effectively expanding your living area without building "out" (adding a foundation and framing the addition, etc., a much more costly option). So a converted garage is more valuable to this homeowner than a garage (rather keep the kids inside and comfortable instead of their old Chevy, which will now have to stay in the driveway!).

If you are a gearhead, well, having more cars than kids is usually your mindset, so do not ever take away the garage!

There is also another way of answering this question. If the house is very small (below average), adding another 250 square feet or so will significantly increase the size of the house. If this increase now makes the house "typical" in size compared to others in the neighborhood, I would say that finishing the garage would make a lot of sense, and would significantly add to the value of the property. On the other hand, if the house were already at least average in size, having a garage may be more valuable.

Again, there is no simple answer, and from my standpoint as an appraiser, I will value the property based on how the market (buyers) reacts to different situations and factors. Again, I do not determine the value, but I merely report what the market determines the value to be.

I'm always here to answer questions you may have. Let me know how I can help!

05/02/2025

As an appraiser, my job is not to determine a property's value. This may sound strange, and if I do not determine the value of a property, then what am I doing?

Real estate appraisers do not "come up with a value." We are really just reporters. What appraiser would have determined values increasing significantly during a pandemic? Who would have predicted that?

Our job is to report what the market is doing. The market is not a group of appraisers getting together to discuss what adjustments should be made for a garage, or how much an adjustment should be made for a bathroom, or living area, or the number of acres of land. No, the market is you, the buyers!

Sometimes I think it is funny when a buyer will ask me what an inground pool, or an accessory dwelling unit, is worth. I don't know! With some research, in a particular market, I can figure out what they are worth. Some buyers will not buy a house with an inground pool, so the pool is worth less than $0, because they would have to pay money to remove the pool, or fill it in. Other buyers are looking to buy a house with an inground pool. Or their family situation requires the need for an in-law apartment.

Appraisers are not going to tell anyone what they should spend on a feature. In a hot market where there is little inventory, and a large pool of buyers, I have seen completely renovated houses sell for a similar price compared to a very dated house, all other factors being very similar (age, size, style, location, etc). Wouldn't everyone assume that a renovated house will sell for more money than a cosmetically dated one? I sure would.

The market, the pool of buyers, their motivation, is what sets the value. I just report it!

04/17/2025

What is the market like these days? Short marketing times, multiple over-asking offers, some with "appraisal gaps" (the buyer will pay the difference out of pocket between the appraised value and the contract price), and in general, more buyers than sellers! As a result, market values continue to increase.

Interest rates are an interesting dynamic in the real estate world. Common sense tells us that higher interest rates give the buyers less buying power, and therefore, values should at least stabilize, or possibly decline. However, the other effect is disproving that theory because higher interest rates are causing potential sellers to hang on to their property (most homeowners have interest rates of under 4%, so if they sell, they will need to buy a house at a 6-7% interest rate, deterring sellers from listing their property). As a result, there is a lack of inventory, driving up sale prices!

One of the things I enjoy about being a real estate appraiser is learning how the market reacts to different situations and external forces, such as interest rates, revitalization of specific neighborhoods, and the motivation behind buyers and sellers.

Let me know if I can assist with any real estate appraisal needs you may have, I'm always here to help, or refer you to someone who can!

03/22/2025

One service I offer, and recently accomplished, is measuring real estate. It was a fairly large 3-story mixed use property in Worcester, the owner wanted to know the exact amount of residential and office space that was available for marketing purposes, completed with a full layout of rooms, hallways, stairways, porches, and even the basement space, which is to be rented for storage space. I have two super accurate laser measurement tools (one for indoor use, one for outdoor use) that accomplish the task quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, accurately! I will measure to ANSI standards. This service is great for realtors, as most do not measure houses, or they do it incorrectly, which can skew the living area and the sale price per square foot. Feel free to give me a call!

03/20/2025

Business is good! Lender work is picking up, and the demand for private appraisals is always there, from helping realtors and homeowners to determine a proper list price to sell a house, to determining fair market value for a Will, or to help settle a divorce or estate, West End Appraisals is here to help!

05/29/2024

"One of a kind property." This phrase sends shivers down appraisers' backs. 😆