As the owner and review appraiser for Platinum Appraisal, I can say I have a complete understanding of the real estate market in all of the six counties we serve. Unlike most appraisers you find, I actually put my real estate knowledge to work for me. In the lack luster market in early 2006 I put one of my houses up for sale. It was the smallest of the colonial style houses with a partial basement in the subdivision.

With my knowledge of what buyers want and will pay for, I updated the house. In the past the highest sale of that same model house was in the very low $400,000's. The larger colonial houses in the area were selling between $480,000 and $650,000. In a very short time we had offers and sold for more than $500,000. That’s close to $100,000 more than the previous high sale of the same model house. The competing listings, at that time, of the same or similar houses went unsold. Some of those listings went unsold for more than a year. The other two houses that were the same models did finally sell for $50,000 to over $70,000 less than the house I sold. All the houses that were in competition with my house sold for less than mine and all took much longer to sell than my house. Oh, by the way just a few months prior I decided to change to a lower rate short term mortgage since I didn't live there anymore. The appraiser came out and said they could not get it to appraise for any more than $470,000. I know, I hear it all the time, home owners telling me it is worth more than it is but I gave this appraiser the sales I based my information on. Again, a short time later it sold for more than $500,000.

Another example, the house I purchased with the intent to raze was appraised for $10,000 more than the purchase price. My current house was appraised, not by me, for $84,000 more than I paid for it less than two years ago.

I have experience with completely custom high end houses and am currently in the process of developing plans and will hopefully soon be building for myself.

I have a great deal of knowledge and personal experience in the field of real estate that you will not find from most appraisers. Many of my current clients trust me to help them find a house for themselves, family or friends. I am glad to help them make a smart and well informed purchasing decision.