Opinion of value
An opinion of value is a stated estimate of what a property is worth. No statute defines the phrase by that name; Virginia's appraiser regulations use it for what an appraiser renders, and it also names a real estate licensee's valuation, which may not be called an appraisal.
Before a listing: the number an owner asks a licensee for
The phrase usually turns up early, before anything is for sale. An owner wants to know what land, a house, a farm or commercial ground might bring, and asks a real estate licensee. On this site, the answer to that request goes by this name.
What to send and what comes back are on the free valuation page. Whether it costs anything, and where a fee first enters a sale, is answered in whether there is a charge for a valuation.
No statute defines opinion of value by that name. The nearest word in the Virginia Code is valuation, which the appraiser chapter defines as an estimate of value.
An estimate is what the number is. It is not an exact figure and not a precise one, however carefully it is reasoned. When a licensee's valuation is given in the ordinary course of business for a fee, Va. Code 54.1-2010 A 1 attaches limits to it, and how those play out when someone wants to use the number is argued in whether a valuation from a licensee counts as an appraisal.
Some agents call a pricing study of this kind a comparative market analysis. That is a trade term, and no Virginia Code section or Real Estate Board regulation defines it either.
After a contract: the appraiser's opinion and the lender's file
The same three words come back later in a sale, attached to different work. Once a buyer is under contract and borrowing, the lender may need an appraisal from a person licensed or certified by the Real Estate Appraiser Board. Virginia's appraiser regulations use the phrase for what an appraiser renders, defining appraisal bias in terms of bias "in the opinion of value rendered by an appraiser."
Federal consumer guidance uses the words more loosely: the CFPB's own description of an appraisal calls it an opinion of how much a property is worth, and it names appraisals and opinions of value side by side.
An owner's opinion of value
A real estate licensee's estimate, given to help an owner decide whether and how to sell. It may not be called an appraisal.
A contract and a loan application
The buyer's lender decides what valuation its file needs.
An appraisal, or an evaluation
Where an appraisal is required, a licensed or certified appraiser renders an opinion of value. Where no appraisal is required, Virginia defines an evaluation as an opinion of the market value of the property that may be used instead.
A copy to the borrower
For a typical home loan, meaning a loan secured by a first mortgage on residential real estate, the CFPB says the borrower is entitled to a copy of appraisals and opinions of value the lender gets.
Two documents can therefore carry the same phrase on one property. The first is a licensee's estimate that helps an owner decide; the second is an appraiser's opinion that a lender relies on. The law keeps the first from standing in for the second.
Want an opinion of value on land, a home, a farm or commercial ground?
Send Lowell the address or tax map number and what is on the property, and the estimate comes back with its reasoning, in writing if you ask. No cost, no obligation.
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Questions about this term
Why do a licensee's number and an appraiser's number share the name opinion of value?
Because no statute owns the phrase, it is ordinary language for any stated estimate of worth. What separates the two is who gives the opinion and what the law lets it be called. Only a person licensed or certified by the Real Estate Appraiser Board may use the word appraisal, and a licensee's valuation may not be referred to as one or used in place of one.
Where this page's facts come from
Every rule, office and figure above traces to one of these. Rules change; check the office before you act on one.
- Va. Code 54.1-2009: definitions for Real Estate Appraisers, including valuation and evaluation Code of Virginia
- Va. Code 54.1-2010: exemptions from the appraiser chapter Code of Virginia
- 18VAC130-20, Real Estate Appraiser Board Rules and Regulations Real Estate Appraiser Board
- What are appraisals and why do I need to look at them? Consumer Financial Protection Bureau