Real estate appraisal services for homeowners in the city of Saugatuck and Allegan County

The top seven reasons MI homeowners order from Great Lakes Appraisal:

  1. To get a pre-listing appraisal (whether they're selling the home on their own or using an agent)
  2. Challenge a property tax assessment
  3. To lower your monthly mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate their Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
  5. Review a different appraiser's report for verification
  6. If property needs to be divided because of a divorce
  7. To determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in Allegan County or the state of MI

Need help deciding the value of your home in or near Saugatuck, MI?
Contact Great Lakes Appraisal.

At Great Lakes Appraisal, we understand the individual needs of a customer looking for appraisal services. Our business practices and reporting formats are relatively routine to our business clients like lenders, attorneys, and CPAs. But as a consumer,we will provide you with extra guidance and explanations through the appraisal process to better understand what we do and how we present our conclusions.

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

It's very hard to be objective about your own home because you probably have an emotional attachment to it. Our professional appraisers at Great Lakes Appraisal 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 interested buyers, a professional appraisal is a crucial negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer. It's something concrete to show the buyer. An appraisal is an independent third party's opinion of your home's price -- not just how much your home is worth. Interested buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your home and will be much more likely to give credibility to an expert appraiser's value estimation than yours.

PMI Removal Appraisals

Getting the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) eliminated from your mortgage loan is a popular way to save money for homeowners. Once your mortgage loan is below 80% of the value of your house, in most cases you can apply to a lender to have the PMI eliminated from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. We are experienced in helping homeowners just like you get rid of unwanted and unneeded PMI insurance.

Challenge property tax assessments

Your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued if your home is not appreciating as much as other properties nearby. That only means you are most likely paying more taxes than you should. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the earlier you take care of a matter like this, the better off you'll be. Getting an appraisal report from Great Lakes Appraisal is your chief weapon when challenging your property tax assessment.

Recently got a freeze your HELOC?

Even if your specific property has not declined in value, your lender may just choose to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your house is in or near a declining area. Not only can this be disadvantageous from a cash flow viewpoint, but it can be bad for your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. Great Lakes Appraisal can provide you with a professional appraisal to help you reinstate your home equity line of credit.

We Also Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Have you just been handed a copy of your appraisal and you'd like to have an expert double-check it for verity or do you need a second opinion without the added expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? We can go out and check the subject and comparables in a field review. If you're in a rush, we'll 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 had in the past. Even though this is typically requested by banks, you may want to exercise this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your home.