The decision picks the valuation, and three questions settle it: who will rely on the number, what date it has to speak to, and whether that reader requires an appraisal. A Claremont owner who only wants a sense of the market does not need an appraisal at all. An executor valuing a house as of a date of death, a spouse in a divorce or an owner preparing an assessment appeal usually does, and a purchase or refinance appraisal is ordered by the lender, not the owner.
This page works through the decisions that bring Claremont owners to the question, from the Village to the foothills, and says which document fits each one. Appraisals on this site are prepared by Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (license lookup).
Three questions that choose the document
- Who relies on it? If only you will read the number, almost any valuation can inform you. If a lender, a court, a trustee, a CPA or an appeals board will read it, that reader's rules decide what is acceptable. In appraisal terms these are the intended users, the people entitled to rely on the report.
- What date must it speak to? Most decisions need value today. An estate needs value as of the date of death, an assessment appeal as of the January 1 lien date in Revenue and Taxation Code section 2192, and a family law matter as of the date the parties or the court set. The effective date, the date the opinion of value applies to, has to match.
- What does the reader accept? Some readers accept any reasonable estimate. Others want an independent opinion of market value developed under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), with the reasoning written out.
Decision by decision
DecisionWho relies on the numberDate it must speak toWhat fits
Curious what the house might be worth
You
Today
An automated estimate (not an appraisal) as a rough starting point
Choosing a list price
You and your listing agent
Today
The agent's CMA (not an appraisal); a pre-listing appraisal if you want an independent opinion first
Selling now, as-is
You
Today
Buyers' cash offers (not appraisals), compared on terms
Purchase or refinance loan
The lender
Current
The lender's own appraisal, or no appraisal if the lender uses value acceptance
Removing PMI
The loan servicer
As the servicer specifies
Whatever the servicer requires; ask before ordering anything
Estate or date of death
Executor, heirs, CPA
Date of death
A retrospective appraisal
Trust or conservatorship
Trustee or conservator, attorney, court
The date the instrument or attorney sets
An appraisal
Divorce
Both parties, mediator, court
The date the parties or court set
An appraisal, often by one appraiser engaged by both sides
Property tax review or appeal
Assessor or appeals board
January 1 lien date
An appraisal as of the lien date
Questioning an existing appraisal
You, and possibly the lender
The original report's effective date
An appraisal review
Four of those rows name something other than an appraisal. An automated estimate is a statistical estimate from records and nearby sales, not an appraisal. An agent's CMA, a comparative market analysis, is an opinion of likely list or sale price, not an appraisal. A cash offer is the price one buyer will pay on stated terms, not an appraisal. The county assessment, which a tax appeal disputes, is the taxable value under California's assessment rules, not an appraisal.
The estate row calls for a retrospective appraisal, an appraisal whose effective date is in the past. An appraisal review, the act of developing an opinion about the quality of another appraiser's work, examines a report someone else wrote; it does not produce a new value unless the assignment includes one. Market, appraised and assessed value and a cash offer defines each number in full.
When an owner should not order an appraisal
Two situations come up often in Claremont.
The loan. If the house is being bought or refinanced with a mortgage, the lender orders the appraisal and is its client. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide says the lender is responsible for selecting appraisers and may not use appraisals ordered or received by borrowers or other parties with an interest in the transaction, such as the seller or a real estate agent. An owner-ordered appraisal does not substitute for the lender's, and for some loan files Fannie Mae's system offers value acceptance, in which case no appraisal is required at all. The lender decides which applies.
Curiosity. If nothing will be filed, signed or decided on the number, an appraisal may be more than the question needs. Should I order an appraisal just to know what my house is worth weighs that choice.
One house, two decisions, two reports
An appraisal is written for one intended use, what the report will be used for, and the intended users named in it. It does not travel well to a different decision. A Claraboya house appraised as of a date of death for the heirs is not a refinance appraisal, because the date, the reader and the client are all different. A pre-listing appraisal ordered by a Village owner does not go into a buyer's loan file. A report dated January 1 for an assessment appeal speaks to the lien date, not to the day the house is listed months later.
When two decisions arrive together, such as an estate that must establish date-of-death value and then sell the house, the scope call is where that gets sorted out: one assignment, two assignments, or one assignment with two effective dates, depending on what each reader needs.
How Claremont property types change the scope, not the answer
The decision picks the document; the house shapes how much work it takes. A postwar ranch north of Foothill usually has same-model sales nearby. A hillside home in Padua Hills or Claraboya has few close sales, so the comparable search widens and the report explains why. A pre-1940 bungalow near the Colleges with later additions needs its living area measured and its permit history sorted out. A townhome or condominium south of the 10 needs the HOA documents. None of that changes which kind of valuation a decision needs; it changes the scope of work, the type and extent of research and analysis. Fees are set by the scope of the assignment and quoted before work begins, and they do not depend on the value.
For the assignment types themselves and who usually orders each, see home appraisal services in Claremont. For how the evidence differs by pocket, see what a Claremont appraisal measures.
Next step
If your decision is one of the appraisal rows above, the appraisal services list shows the matching assignment, and the Claremont area page describes the local pockets. The home appraisal in Claremont knowledge center has the rest of this series. To talk through which document fits before anything is ordered, call (909) 324-6122 or request an appraisal. Nothing here is legal or tax advice; your CPA or attorney decides how a value is used.
Sources
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.1-03, Appraiser Selection Criteria: selling-guide.fanniemae.com (accessed November 6, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.4-10, Value Acceptance: selling-guide.fanniemae.com (accessed November 6, 2026)
- California Revenue and Taxation Code section 2192 (the January 1 lien date): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (accessed November 6, 2026)
- California Revenue and Taxation Code section 51 (taxable value): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (accessed November 6, 2026)
- Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines, 75 FR 77450 (December 10, 2010), glossary (effective dates): govinfo.gov (accessed November 6, 2026)
- The Appraisal Foundation, Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP): appraisalfoundation.org (accessed November 6, 2026)
- California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, license lookup: brea.ca.gov (accessed November 6, 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
Do I need an appraisal to know what my Claremont house is worth?
Not necessarily. If only you will read the number and nothing will be filed or decided on it, an automated estimate or an agent's CMA can inform you, though neither is an appraisal. An appraisal fits when a lender, court, trustee, CPA or appeals board will rely on the value.
Can I order my own appraisal for a mortgage?
Generally no. For loans sold to Fannie Mae, the lender selects the appraiser and may not use appraisals ordered by borrowers or other interested parties such as the seller or an agent. For some loan files the lender may use value acceptance, in which case no appraisal is required.
What kind of valuation does an estate need?
Usually a retrospective appraisal, an appraisal whose effective date is in the past, set to the date of death. The executor, heirs and CPA rely on it, and your CPA or attorney decides how the value is used. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
What date does a property tax appeal appraisal use?
The January 1 lien date set by California Revenue and Taxation Code section 2192. The appraisal is evidence of market value as of that date; the assessor or the appeals board decides the appeal.
Can one appraisal serve two different decisions?
Rarely. An appraisal is written for one intended use, a set of named intended users and one effective date. A date-of-death appraisal for heirs is not a refinance appraisal, and a pre-listing appraisal does not go into a buyer's loan file.
