(916) 425-8814
Welcome to Arctic Appraisals
Your Residential Real Estate Appraisal Expert for Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, San Joaquin, Sutter, Yuba, Amador, Solano, and Nevada Counties
My name is Kelley Christensen and I am a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser with over 20 years’ experience in the real estate appraisal industry. I specialize in completing high quality residential appraisals for divorce, estate, retrospective/historical, litigation, portfolio management, bankruptcy, tax and private purchase residential real estate appraisals. I also provide market rent valuations for developing Watts charges.
We provide Litigation Appraisals and Expert Witness Testimony for both Civil and Family Law. Please contact us for information on availability and pricing.
An appraiser must remain unbiased in performing an appraisal of a property. But we can consult with you and advise you about the relative strength of an appraisal presented by opposing parties. We can also perform additional research and analysis to support or discredit assumptions or conclusions.
With years of experience working as a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, I’m a seasoned and dedicated professional ready to cater to all your real estate needs.
My Services
Here for You
A real estate transaction is a multifaceted process with many moving parts. Whatever your realty goals are, I’m here to help — providing the highest level of personalized services to create a unique and satisfactory experience for all my clients. Check out my service offerings below.
Residential Appraisal
Throughout many years of providing this service to clients, I have gained the experience and expertise necessary to make this process as seamless as possible. If you have any questions, simply reach out.
Residential includes single family, condominium, PUD, 2-4 Unit income properties and vacant land.
Date of Death / Estate Valuations
Estate tax liability. Disposition of assets under a will or in probate. There are many situations -- none of them lacking stress and complexity -- where you might need an appraisal of property that states an opinion of what the property was worth on a date some time ago, rather than when the appraisal is ordered. For estate tax purposes or disposition of the assets of a decedent, a "date of death" valuation is often required. (Sometimes, the executor of the estate may choose to have the date be six months after the date of death -- but the same principles apply.)
Divorce Appraisal Valuation
We know that divorce is never easy. There are numerous issues looming, including what to do with the house. There are generally two choices when discussing the house - it can be sold and the proceeds split, or one party can "buy out" the other. In either case, one or both parties would find it in their best interest to order an appraisal of the common real estate.
A divorce appraisal needs a well-supported, professional report that can be supported in court. Arctic Appraisals guarantees the very best in service with courtesy and top notch analysis. Handling the sensitive challenges of a divorce situation is familiar territory for us. Whether you are using mediation, litigation, collaborative or no 3rd party assistance, Arctic Appraisals is here to help.
For attorneys handling a divorce, your case's evidence frequently requires an appraisal to ascertain market value for the residential real estate involved. A lot of the time the divorce date differs from the date you requested the appraisal. We are familiar with the techniques and what is imperative to complete a retrospective appraisal that has an effective date and Market Value conclusion matching the date of divorce. We handle many divorce appraisals, and we understand that they need to be handled with total professionalism. The ethics provision within the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) means the highest amount of confidentiality, guaranteeing you the utmost discretion.
Market Rent Determination
Determine both historical/retrospective market rent and current market rent. Maximize the rental income on a property you own; or, determine the market rent for developing Watts charges.
List Price Determination
Are you working with a real estate agent to list your property? More than likely, they'll provide you with a comparative market analysis (or a CMA) that includes a list of sale homes in your area. It's a customary starting point when determining your home's listing price. If you're going to maximize your profit and minimize your home's time on the market, this is a vital step.
In our opinion, though, you should also get a pre-listing appraisal from a licensed professional who tracks real estate values for living - BEFORE putting your home on the market - even if you're working with an experienced real estate agent.
That's where we come in! We'll do a pre-listing appraisal so you and your real estate agent have an accurate description of your home's features and a detailed analysis of the most recent and similar comparable sales or "comps".
Arctic Appraisals can help you decide on a realistic selling price so your house will bring in potential buyers, and we can also:
Help provide advice when negotiating once you find a a prospective buyer
Blow away potential buyers with written proof of your house's state inside and out
Eliminate repair hassles at the eleventh hour and make yourself aware of problems that might delay a closing
Decrease the chances of unexpected difficulties that cause negotiations to fall through
Do away with waiting for the buyer's appraisal to have confidence the sale will go through
So many people are blown away when they find out that the market value of their house is a lot more than they expected, so investing in a professional appraisal actually allowed these sellers to receive several thousand more dollars than they thought they would when their home was sold. There are also plenty of home sellers who think their home is worth much more than it really is, and an appraisal helped them to decide on a realistic price for their home in order for it to sell. An overpriced property will not attract potential buyers, which means you throw away time and money and are left with no prospects for buying your home. And in the meantime, you're stuck paying the mortgage while your property is still sitting on the market.