A home appraisal in Claremont includes, in order: who the report is for and what it answers, a description of the neighborhood and the site, a measured description of the house, the comparable sales with every adjustment, a reconciliation that arrives at one opinion of value as of a stated date, and an addendum of sketches, photographs and maps, closed by the appraiser's signed certification. Section names differ a little between a lender form and a narrative report, but each part is written so a reader who never saw the house can follow the reasoning.
The full method is in the pillar guide to what a Claremont appraisal measures.
Page one: who the report is for
The opening section sets the terms everything else depends on. It is developed under USPAP, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, and it names:
- The client, the person or firm that engaged the appraiser: a homeowner, a trustee, an attorney, a CPA or a lender.
- The intended use, what the report will be used for, such as a trust administration, a divorce, a property tax appeal or a loan.
- The intended users, the people entitled to rely on the report.
- The effective date, the date the opinion of value applies to, which may be the inspection date or a date in the past for an estate or a separation.
- The scope of work, the type and extent of research and analysis, including what was inspected and how far the comparable search reached.
The subject section also identifies the property by its legal description and assessor parcel number. A Claremont parcel is on the Los Angeles County roll, even when the closest sales sit across the county line in San Bernardino County.
The neighborhood and the market
The neighborhood section draws the market area the comparables come from and says why. In Claremont that boundary is rarely the city limit. A Village bungalow's market is the older blocks around the Colleges along Indian Hill Boulevard and College Avenue; a postwar ranch's market is the tracts north of Foothill Boulevard toward Base Line Road; a Claraboya or Padua Hills home's market is the foothill band. The section describes the housing in that area, with no forecast attached.
The site
The site section describes the lot: its size, shape, zoning, utilities, easements, flood zone and view. On a flat lot in the tracts this is short. On a Claraboya or Padua Hills lot it carries more weight, because slope, the usable portion of the lot, the driveway grade and the view orientation all affect who buys the house.
The improvements
This is the measured description of the house. Gross living area, the finished, heated space above grade, comes from the appraiser's own exterior measurements, which Fannie Mae requires to follow the ANSI Z765 standard on the loans it buys. Room counts, systems and any updating are recorded.
Condition and quality are each rated on a six-step scale used in lender reports. Condition runs from C1, new and never occupied, to C6, damage severe enough to affect safety or soundness. Quality runs from Q1, unique architect-designed work, to Q6, basic low-cost construction.
Additions get their own lines. An enclosed porch, a back room, a converted garage or an ADU is described with its permit status, and where an addition lacks a required permit the report comments on the quality of the work and any effect on value. On older Claremont houses this is often the longest part of the section; measuring a Village bungalow with later additions shows why.
The sales comparison approach
The sales comparison approach, the method that values a house by comparing it with similar homes that sold, is the center of a Claremont single-family report. The grid places the subject beside the closed sales and adjusts each sale for its differences. An adjustment is the amount added to or subtracted from a comparable's price to account for a difference buyers pay for. Shown blank, with every figure as a dash:
RowSubjectComparable 1Comparable 2Comparable 3
Location and distance
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Sale price and date
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Gross living area
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Site and view
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Condition and quality
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Net adjustment
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Adjusted sale price
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Fannie Mae's guidelines call for at least three closed comparables, distances stated in miles with a direction, and a fact-based explanation of each adjustment rather than a bare statement that one was made. When a Claremont report uses a sale from another pocket, or from Montclair or Upland across Mills Avenue, the comments say why that sale was the better evidence.
The cost and income approaches
Two other methods may appear. The cost approach estimates what it would cost to build the improvements new, less depreciation, plus the land. The income approach values a property from the rent it could earn. For most owner-occupied Claremont houses these are brief or left out, and the scope of work says why.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation is where the appraiser weighs the adjusted comparables and any other approach and arrives at one opinion of market value as of the effective date. The section explains which sales carried the most weight and why.
The addenda: sketch, photographs and maps
- A floor plan sketch with the exterior measurements behind the gross living area figure, with additions and any ADU drawn separately.
- Photographs of the front, rear and street, every room, and the garage.
- Photographs of each comparable, usually from the street.
- A location map showing the subject and every comparable, which makes a crossing of the 10, the 210 or the county line easy to see.
Certification and limiting conditions
The report ends with the appraiser's signed certification, including the statement that the fee does not depend on the value or on any outcome. Any extraordinary assumption, an assumption about uncertain facts that, if false, could change the result, and any hypothetical condition, a condition assumed for the analysis that is known to be contrary to fact, are stated here and where they are used. The signature carries the credential: Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877, which anyone can check on the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers lookup.
What the report does not include
No inspection findings in the home inspector's sense, no repair cost estimates and no list-price advice. It is also different from an agent's CMA, an opinion of likely list or sale price that is not an appraisal, and from an automated estimate, which is not an appraisal either. What a local appraiser knows about the pockets covers where Claremont reports most often differ.
Next step
The Claremont area page describes the pockets, and the appraisal services list shows which assignment fits which decision. More on the report is in the home appraisal in Claremont knowledge center. To scope one, request an appraisal or call (909) 324-6122. Fees are set by the scope of the assignment and quoted before work begins, and the report is typically three to five business days from the inspection.
Sources
- The Appraisal Foundation, Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP): appraisalfoundation.org (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-05, Improvements Section of the Appraisal Report: selling-guide.fanniemae.com (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-06, Property Condition and Quality of Construction of the Improvements: selling-guide.fanniemae.com (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-08, Comparable Sales: selling-guide.fanniemae.com (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09, Adjustments to Comparable Sales: selling-guide.fanniemae.com (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor: assessor.lacounty.gov (accessed October 30, 2026)
- California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, license lookup: brea.ca.gov (accessed October 30, 2026)
Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (lookup: https://www2.brea.ca.gov/breasearch/faces/party/view.xhtml?id=23601). Reports are prepared in conformity with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). Nothing here is legal or tax advice; admissibility is always the court's decision.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Claremont homeowner get a copy of the appraisal?
When a homeowner engages the appraiser directly, the homeowner is the client and receives the report. For a loan, the lender is the client, and the borrower's copy comes through the lender's process rather than from the appraiser.
How many comparable sales are in a Claremont appraisal report?
Fannie Mae's guidelines for lender work call for at least three closed comparables, and many reports show more when a pocket such as Claraboya or Padua Hills has few similar sales. Each one is adjusted for its differences, and the report explains why it was chosen.
What is a restricted appraisal report?
A restricted appraisal report is a condensed USPAP format whose intended users are limited and named, and it states the conclusions with less of the supporting detail. Reports that a court, a lender or an appeals board will read usually call for the full appraisal report instead.
Will the appraisal report tell me what to repair?
No. The report records visible condition and rates it, but it does not diagnose defects or estimate repair costs. That is the work of a home inspector or a contractor.
