During an appraisal, can an appraiser ask the homeowner what they want the home to be valued at?

Hi ljl!

Welcome to forums!

The appraiser can ask questions to the homeowners. However, the valuation of the property will be the appraiser's discretion.

Feel free to ask if you've further queries.

Susane

Conversations with the appraiser should be limited to factual information about the property and the neighbourhood. With regard to ethics, discussions of value should be taken with extreme caution. The question you proposed tells me one of two things. Either the appraiser is not confident in their ability to appraise the property or they are being unethical by shooting for a target value which benefits a party of the transaction. Either one of these, you should be requesting another appraiser. The valuation should be objective, unbiased, and uninfluenced by parties with interest.

That being said, I will add that conversations regarding impacts on value of certain features may be acceptable. For example, if the homeowner is interested in remodeling the kitchen, they may ask what will have the biggest increase in value.

I hope this answers your question.