How Does A Home Appraisal Work In An Arizona Divorce?

When a marriage is ending, the house is usually the hardest thing to talk about. It holds the most money, and it holds the most memories. Nobody wants to argue over a guess. An appraisal gives both of you the same number to start from, so the conversation can move on to the part that really matters, who keeps what.

Here is how it goes, in order, for a home in Gilbert.

Why Arizona needs a number at all

Arizona is a community property state. Under A.R.S. 25-211, property either spouse acquires during the marriage is generally community property, with exceptions such as gifts and inheritances. When the marriage ends, A.R.S. 25-318 tells the court to assign each spouse's separate property to that spouse and divide the community property equitably. You cannot divide a house fairly until you know what it is worth. That is the whole job of the appraisal.

The date comes first

Before anything else, settle which date the value should speak to. In a divorce it may be today, or it may be an earlier date. Your attorney or mediator is the right person to say which one. We write the date into the report, because a value means little without it.

Then comes the home

An appraiser is assigned and arranges a time with whoever can open the door. The appraiser walks the rooms, measures the outside, and notes the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring and anything that has been updated or worn. In Gilbert the list also includes things a northern appraiser would never write down: the concrete tile roof, the stucco, the block walls, a gravel or turf yard, a pool, solar panels and whether they are owned or leased.

Afterward the appraiser studies recent sales of similar homes nearby and explains, line by line, how your house compares. The result is a written report you can hand to your attorney, a mediator or the court.

A Gilbert house is not one kind of house

Gilbert grew from a farming town, and you can still see it in the mix. Older ranch homes near the Heritage District sit within a short drive of newer master-planned neighborhoods with their own HOAs, community pools and lakes. Two houses of the same size can be worth quite different amounts depending on which side of that line they fall. This is why the appraiser's choice of comparable sales matters more than any formula, and why it helps to tell us about a casita, a converted garage, a rental unit or a recent remodel up front.

One report, or two

Many couples agree on one appraiser and share the report. It is usually calmer, because you are discussing the division and not the number. Others each hire their own. If the two of you cannot agree, ask your attorney what the Maricopa County Superior Court, where Gilbert cases are filed, is likely to accept.

What helps to have ready

Nothing here has to happen today

There is no need to rush on the first day. Call when you know a value will be needed and tell us what your attorney or mediator has asked for. We will say plainly what the assignment involves. We are not lawyers and do not give legal advice, so please have an attorney confirm how Arizona law applies to you.

If it would help to talk it through, call (480) 573-7263. Our divorce appraisal service page describes what we prepare.