Jeanne,

My question to you is, why are you looking for fair market value? Are you trying to refinance, buy or sell?

If you are refinancing, keep in mind, a refinance appraisal is not necessarily a true indication fo value. A bank will look to see if enough value is there at the requested loan-to-value ratio. Beyond that is anyone's guess.

If you are buying or selling property, consider this: While a CMA is the old standby, and new tools are available online, there are two things to be aware of:

1. Valuation of a property is not an exact science. Very rarely will two agents or even appraisers arrive at the same price, using the same comparables in their reports.

2. The true definition of Fair Market value is what the seller is willing to sell for, the buyer is willing to pay, and the bank is willing to finance.

Regardless of your intention, unless seen in person, a valuation based upon verbal description or onlne methods is only a step in the right direction. At best you will be able to determine the highs and lows of similiar properties in your area. Where you decide to set your asking/sales price is up to you absed upon that info.

I agree that an active agent that is in your area, and familiar with the local market can be a good source of advice and counsel.

Hi Jeanne,

Your CMA... Comparitive Market Analysis is always free. It can be emailed to you, but there is other ways to get a market value just to be safe. I just decided to refinance my $850,000 home near Tacoma with Bank of America after my younger son Ben told me that they had some good deals right now..., what surprised me was that they have a link to a page where you can put in your address etc and get a fairly good assessment in about 2 minutes. Mine came back at $850,000 to $950,000 ...not bad. My own CMA was at $879,000. Many other online sources are not as accurate. I also give out free cma's by email. :)

Find out your properties value...just click this link, its free from BofA.
http://www.bankofamerica.com/loansandhomes/index.cfm?template=hc_ho…

Ideas, tips, thoughts and basic help is always free. :)
Have a warm evening,
-Don Leske Sr.
Associate Broker

I would simply talk to some realtors who really specialize in that area. Do some research and see who lists the most houses in that area. Contact a couple different local realtors and get estimates on your house value from them all and look through the information that they researched to come to that conclusion.

Realtors are generally happy to do this as a service to many homeowners!

Good luck!