A home appraisal is one of the requirements for obtaining a mortgage. It is what allows you to know the real value of the house, beyond what you are willing to pay for it. This is key information for the bank and it should be for you as well.
Who can you appraise your home with?
There are websites and tools on the Internet that will tell you the approximate value of a property . And that can be a good starting point. However, when it comes to signing a mortgage, things have to be a little more formal and standardized.
In other words, for the appraisal to be valid, it is not enough for any company to issue a certificate of valuation of the price of the property. They must be appraisal companies approved by the Bank of Spain .
Approved appraisal companies in Spain
The list of appraisal companies approved by the Bank of Spain (BdE) is extensive and changing. There are appraisal companies that are added and others that disappear over time, just like in any other sector.
In total, the BdE gives its blessing and approves the valuations of more than 30 appraisal companies . The specific list can be consulted in the Registry of Entities of the Bank of Spain , although if you want more information about any of them you can go to the Spanish Association of Value Analysis (AEAV).
Which appraisal companies do banks work with?
The list of appraisers approved by the BdE is extensive and not all have the same prestige or cachet. Some are more well-known than others and are also more widely used by financial institutions.
Each bank usually works with a number of appraisal companies. These are the appraisers they feel most comfortable with and the ones they will recommend to carry out the appraisal of your future home .
Remember that choosing the bank's appraiser does not guarantee that you will get the mortgage or that the appraisal of the property will be free . This is still one of the mortgage costs that you must assume as a client .
Among the appraisers most used by financial institutions in Spain are:
- Tinsa
- Aquitansa Appraisal Company
- JLL Valuations
- Gesvalt Appraisal Company
- Tecnitase
- CRBE
- Krata
- ST Appraisal Society
- LKS appraisals
Should they accept appraisals from other appraisers?
Yes. When applying for a mortgage , the bank must accept the appraisal carried out by all approved appraisal companies .
If you have already had an appraisal carried out by any entity approved by the BdE, the bank must accept it. The entity can carry out checks and ensure that the data and the appraisal value are adequate. However, it cannot charge you for them. Legally, you have already paid for the appraisal necessary to value the property.
However, a home appraisal is not eternal. These appraisals are valid for 6 months from the date of signature. This is the maximum period that the bank is obliged to accept them. Once this period has passed, it may ask you for a new appraisal of the house. For this reason, if a bank does not grant you the mortgage you are looking for, you can use this appraisal to continue searching.
Finally, to know if a mortgage is green, it is assessed twice to verify whether it actually meets the 30% improvement in energy efficiency. This is a guarantee for the client and great news for the improvement of the housing stock and, by extension, of the cities in which we live.