Dawn Castillo: providing professional, residential valuation for over 30 years and measuring to ANSI standards since 2009
Coverage areas include: Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales and Placitas in New Mexico.
Dawn was raised mainly in Santa Fe, earned her business and economics degree at New Mexico State University in 1983 and became a certified residential appraiser in 1993. While appraising for the past 30 years, she proudly raised her two children (both UNM graduates) here in Albuquerque, and is an adoring grandmother of three. Her son is currently finishing his post-doctoral fellowship with the University of Washington. Her daughter, Brandi Castillo Vanstrom has managed Twin Dawn’s Appraisal office since 2006. For now, Dawn is the only appraiser at the firm until Brandi decides to begin her appraisal apprenticeship.
What to expect during the appraisal site visit (appraisal inspection): Dawn and Brandi are going to measure the exterior of the home using a tape and laser, taking photos of the street, front, rear and sides of the home. They are going to enter the home to draw the floorplan and take 1 quick picture of each room. During this time, Dawn will produce a scale drawing of the home noting condition, quality, as well as any updates or remodeling.
please email appraisal requests to
twindawns@aol.com
include:
address of the property
purpose of the appraisal (Estate, cash deal, Divorce, taxes)
with your contact information.
*If you are trying to refinance your property, usually your lender will need to order the appraisal.
For Pre-Listing, please contact realtors, they will help you for free, with a duty to maximize the price for the seller.
Dawn does not accept orders for Desktop or Drive by products
We will reply within 24hrs with follow up questions or a quote.
Email Twindawns@aol.com Office 505.332.8030
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What is an appraisal? An appraisal is an opinion of value at a given point in time. For most needs, that will be a form 1004 report.
Will my taxes go up after the appraisal? Appraisers do not report the results of the appraisal to the Tax Assessor. Tax rates are adjusted after the sale price of a property is reported, not by the appraiser.
What is your fee? A specific quote is given for each specific property. Fee scale depends on complexity, time report needed, and more.
How do you come up with your opinion of value? Dawn Castillo researches the property history, inspects the physical characteristics including size, quality, condition, functionality, highest and best use, as well as location. The subject property is then compared to recent sales in the subject area (using our local MLS not 3rd party) that bracket the physical characteristics to determine opinion of market value.
I paid for an appraisal, am I the client? It depends, If you have ordered the appraisal directly through our appraisal office and you have paid the invoice we provided to you then yes. This is typical for cash purchase, divorce, or estate purposes
When you are not the client: If your mortgage company/lender/bank has placed the order, that entity is the client. If you are a borrower that has reimbursed the lender for the cost of the appraisal, you are not the client. If you are a seller that has reimbursed the lender for the appraisal, you are not the client. I have signed an engagement letter with each lender stating that I cannot discuss the results of the appraisal report or the fee I accept from the client.
Have you worked in my area before? Dawn Castillo has lived and worked in the Albuquerque Metro for 30 years. Yes. If I have accepted your property as an assignment, that means I have certified that I am geographically competent in your specific location. The “Competency Rule” in USPAP requires that an appraiser have the background, experience, and expertise to complete a particular assignment.
FHA Appraisal info from HUD.gov
WHAT DOES THE FHA APPRAISER LOOK FOR?
The primary areas of inspection are the roof, the foundation, lot grade, ventilation, mechanical systems, heating, electricity, and crawl spaces (when present).
Here are some of the key inspection areas required by HUD:
HUD's primary concern is the health and safety of the home buyer who will actually live in the house. Thus, most of their appraisal / inspection checkpoints have to do with health and safety aspects of the property. Above all, the home must be habitable and comfortable, without any potential hazards to the occupant.
The lot should be graded in a way that prevents moisture from entering the basement and/or foundation. In other words, the lot should be sloped to allow water to drain away from the house -- not toward it.
All bedrooms should have egress to the exterior, for reasons of fire safety. A bedroom window will suffice, as long as it's large enough to allow egress.
Many homes built before 1978 still contain lead-based paint, which is a potential health hazard. In these homes, the appraiser will check for damaged paint (peeling, chipping, etc.). Such conditions must be corrected before the loan will go through.
All steps and stairways must have a handrail for safety. This is a commonly cited discrepancy during FHA appraisals.
The heating system must be sufficient to create "healthful and comfortable living conditions" inside the home.
The roof should be in a good state of repair and must keep moisture from entering the home. It should "provide reasonable future utility, durability and economy of maintenance."
The foundation should be in good repair and able to withstand "all normal loads imposed" on it.
According to HUD Handbook 4000.1, the home "must be free of all known hazards and adverse conditions that may affect the health and safety of the occupants."
The bottom line is that if something poses a threat to the health and safety of the occupant, or to the structure itself, it will probably be marked as "subject to repair." This is the central theme that runs throughout the appraisal guidelines.
More: For a complete checklist of these and other appraisal requirements, refer to HUD Handbook 4000.1. You'll find it on the HUD.gov website
MAKING REPAIRS AFTER THE INSPECTION
There's a common misconception that FHA appraisals are unnecessarily strict, and that any inspection "hits" will end your chances of getting a loan. This is incorrect. In fact, the health-and-safety aspects of the FHA appraisal have gotten a bit more relaxed over the years. Additionally, most discrepancies are fully correctable. If they are corrected before the final inspection (when the appraiser follows up on the hit list), the loan can still move forward.
In most cases, the only "deal breakers" are serious safety issues that cannot easily be corrected. An example would be a bedroom with no windows or doors, and therefore no egress in the event of a fire. Another example would be an older home with a deteriorated roof and holes in the floor (i.e., a fixer-upper). In both of these cases, the discrepancies (A) create hazardous conditions and (B) cannot be easily fixed. These are the types of issues that send FHA loans off the track.
In most cases, however, flagged discrepancies can be resolved fairly easily -- if the seller is willing to fix them. If the items are repaired or corrected to the appraiser's satisfaction, the deal can move forward.
"Required repairs are limited to those repairs necessary to preserve the continued marketability of the property and to protect the health and safety of the occupants."