Are drive by appraisals accurate?
Keeping this in consideration, are drive by appraisals lower?
As with just about anything that's done in a less-than-thorough manner, drive-by appraisals are motivated by a desire to save money. They take less time to do, so the charge to the buyer – and it's the buyer who pays for the appraisal – is lower. Drive-by appraisals carry obvious risks.
Beside this, do appraisers just drive by?
Drive-By Appraisal Usage Appraisers doing drive-by appraisals photograph the site and make notes about the property's condition, generally based from a view from the street. These appraisers also base the property value on data such as recent real estate sales and listings near the site.
Comparable homes or comps are one of the most important factors affecting appraisal value. An appraiser will take a close look at recently sold, nearby homes with similar bedrooms, bathrooms, updates and square footage to your home. The value of these homes can provide baselines for appraisal value.