Attention homeowners: Real estate appraisal services for in Honolulu and Honolulu County

Check out the top 7 reasons why HI homeowners need First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department:

  1. Get a pre-listing appraisal (whether you're using a real estate agent or selling the home on your own)
  2. To challenge a HI property tax assessment
  3. To lower their mortgage payment by removing PMI
  4. Reinstate your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
  5. To review another appraiser's report for verification
  6. In the case of a HI divorce, where real estate needs to be divided
  7. To determine the true market value of real estate in question to settle an estate in HI

Own a home in or near Honolulu, HI and need help determining the value of it?
Contact First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department.

We at First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department understand the special needs of a customer after appraisal services. While our typical clients understand the appraisal process and standard reporting formats, you as a consumer will get extra customer service in the form of an explanation of the process and even special consumer-friendly reporting forms if the assignment allows for them.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO)/Pre-Listing Services

Since you have an emotional attachment to your home, it's often very hard to be objective about it. A professional appraiser is objective and will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. A professional appraisal is very valuable as a negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer, in addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your house will attract buyers. It gives you something tangible to show the buyer. It's an independent third party's opinion of your property's value, and not just you saying how much you think your home is worth. Interested buyers assume that you have an emotional attachment to your house and will be much more likely to give credibility to an accomplished appraiser's value judgement than yours.

Appraisals to cancel PMI

A fashionable money saver for homeowners is to get the PMI removed from their mortgage loan, thus saving them money on their monthly payments. PMI stands for "Private Mortgage Insurance". Once your mortgage loan amount is below 80% of the value of your property, in most cases you can apply to the lender to have the PMI canceled from your loan, which will make your monthly payments go down. At First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department, we're veterans in helping clients just like you rid yourselves of unwanted PMI insurance.

Challenge Honolulu county's assessment of your property

Your local tax assessor may have your home overvalued if you live in an area that is declining or not appreciating as much as other homes nearby. That means you are going to pay more taxes than you should. Since your property assessment may likely go up again in the next period, the sooner you take care of things like this, the better off you'll be. When challenging your property tax assessment, getting an appraisal from First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department is your number one weapon.

Was your HELOC recently frozen?

Your lender may just decide to automatically freeze your home equity line of credit (HELOC) if your property is near a declining area -- even if your specific property has not declined in value. Not only can this be disadvantageous from a cash flow point of view, but it can be unfavorable to your credit score since it may appear as though that credit line is maxed out. First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department can provide you with a professional appraisal that will help you reinstate your HELOC.

We Also Offer Field and Desktop Appraisal Review Services

Have you just gotten a copy of your appraisal and you'd wish to have a seasoned expert double-check it for accuracy or do you need a second opinion without the added expense and delay of waiting for a whole new appraisal? An appraiser from First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department can go out and check the subject and comps in a field review. Or, if you're in a rush, we can provide you with a desk review and verify as many facts as we can using online data sources as well as our own files.

Do you need a retrospective review of an appraisal? First Hawaiian Bank Appraisal Department can help you with that. While typically requested by banks, you may want to exploit this service if you suspect mortgage fraud related to your house.