Chat
Chat with Sales Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (CST)
Contact Sales
Call Sales Toll-Free 1-(866) 774-3282 Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. (CST)
Product Login
Product Log-in
Product Support
Product Support
Email Sales
Contact Sales
After Hours
  • Support
  • Sign In Sign In
  • AUS NZ UK
CoreLogic - Home
  • Solutions
    view solutions by:

    Data Solutions

    • Lead Generation
    • Property Data
    • Location Intelligence

    Real Estate

    • Multiple Listing Enterprise
    • Agent & Broker

    Mortgage

    • Origination
    • Servicing
    • Appraisal
    • Commercial Property Tax

    Insurance

    • Hazard Risk
    • Catastrophe Risk Management
    • Risk Evaluation
    • Underwriting Automation
    • Weather
    • Claims Automation
    • Restoration
    • INTRCONNECT

    Mortgage Lenders

    • Origination

    Mortgage Servicers

    • Residential Property Tax
    • Default & Loss Mitigation
    • Portfolio Insight & Monitoring

    Mortgage Appraisers

    • Appraisal

    Real Estate Agents & Brokers

    • Agents & Brokers

    Real Estate MLS

    • Multiple Listing Enterprises

    Commercial Real Estate Owners

    • Commercial Property Tax

    Marketing Departments

    • Property Data

    Insurance Underwriters

    • Risk Evaluation
    • Underwriting Automation
    • Hazard Risk
    • Catastrophe Risk Management

    Insurance Risk Managers

    • Risk Evaluation
    • Hazard Risk
    • Catastrophe Risk Management

    Insurance Claims

    • Claims Automation
    • Restoration Contractors
    • Weather Verification

    Construction Contractors

    • Restoration Contractors

    General

    • Location Intelligence
    • Lead Generation
    • Data Solutions
  • Resources

    Reports

    • Climate Change
    • Construction Cost Update
    • Construction Insights
    • Home Price Insights
    • Homeowner Equity Insights
    • Loan Performance Insight
    • Mortgage Fraud
    • Property Tax Delinquency
    • Single-Family Rent Index

    Insight Blogs

    • Hazard HQ
    • Office of Chief Economist
    • Affordable Housing
    • Homebuying
    • Insurance
    • Other Articles

    More Resources

    • Events
    • Case Studies
    • White Papers
    • Podcasts
    • Quick Takes
  • Company
    • About
    • Leadership
    • Newsroom
    • Contact
    • Careers
  • Search
CoreLogic - Home
  • Solutions
  • Resources
  • Company

    • About
    • Leadership
    • Newsroom
    • Contact
    • Careers
  • Accounts

    • Products Sign-in
  • Contact

    • Sales Contact
    • Product Support
  • Regions

    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • United Kingdom
  • Social

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Linkedin
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Solutions
VIEW BY:
  • Data Solutions

    • Lead Generation
    • Property Data
    • Location Intelligence
  • Real Estate

    • Multiple Listing Enterprise
    • Agent & Broker
  • Mortgage

    • Origination
    • Servicing
    • Appraisal
    • Commercial Property Tax
  • Insurance

    • Hazard Risk
    • Catastrophe Risk Management
    • Risk Evaluation
    • Underwriting Automation
    • Weather
    • Claims Automation
    • Restoration
    • INTRCONNECT
  • Mortgage Lenders

    • Origination
  • Mortgage Servicers

    • Residential Property Tax
    • Default & Loss Mitigation
    • Portfolio Insight & Monitoring
  • Mortgage Appraisers

    • Appraisal
  • Real Estate Agents & Brokers

    • Agents & Brokers
  • Real Estate MLS

    • Multiple Listing Enterprises
  • Commercial Real Estate Owners

    • Commercial Property Tax
  • Marketing Departments

    • Property Data
  • Insurance Underwriters

    • Risk Evaluation
    • Underwriting Automation
    • Hazard Risk
    • Catastrophe Risk Management
  • Insurance Risk Managers

    • Risk Evaluation
    • Hazard Risk
    • Catastrophe Risk Management
  • Insurance Claims

    • Claims Automation
    • Restoration Contractors
    • Weather Verification
  • Construction Contractors

    • Restoration Contractors
  • General

    • Location Intelligence
    • Lead Generation
    • Data Solutions
Resources
  • Reports

    • Climate Change
    • Construction Cost Update
    • Construction Insights
    • Home Price Insights
    • Homeowner Equity Insights
    • Loan Performance Insight
    • Mortgage Fraud
    • Property Tax Delinquency
    • Single-Family Rent Index
  • Insight Blogs

    • Hazard HQ
    • Office of Chief Economist
    • Affordable Housing
    • Homebuying
    • Insurance
    • Other Articles
  • More Resources

    • Events
    • Case Studies
    • White Papers
    • Podcasts
    • Quick Takes

Home / Intelligence / Blogs / Hazard HQ / Challenges Affecting Appraisals After a Natural Disaster

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Edward Martinez
Edward Martinez
Principal, Industry Solutions
View Profile
  • May 16, 2019

Challenges Affecting Appraisals After a Natural Disaster

Each year, homeowners around the country endure catastrophic events such as floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. These events can be highly destructive to homes, especially when they occur suddenly. In the aftermath of a disaster, appraisers and assessors often find themselves in a number of situations that make it challenging to form an opinion of value. Understanding these challenges is an important step to helping mitigate risk.

When the home is partially damaged

When a disaster causes significant damage to a home, the homeowner may seek an appraisal to help support a diminution in value, giving the homeowner a temporary reduction in property taxes. States often recognize this when there is a “governor-declared disaster.” An “as is” opinion of value may be hard to quantify because the damage may impact the true market potential of the property.

When the home is destroyed

Appraising a home that has been destroyed by a disaster can create several challenges. The home’s value may have to be recreated using historical property information. The true quality and condition may be undocumented or unknown prior to the disaster. Neighborhoods destroyed by wildfires, like those in California in 2017 and 2018, may not be able to adequately offer local sales comps.

When the surrounding community is impacted

Even if the home is intact, the surrounding community can influence the opinion of value. In some cases, the value may be negative because of the loss of lush landscapes and natural vegetation during the disaster. Depending on circumstances, the market may favor the sudden availability of new lots or of views that were previously unavailable.

When there is risk of another catastrophe

Depending on the type of catastrophe, some may fear that hazards such as wildfires or floods may return in the near future, causing a stigma that can impact values and delay the rebuilding process.

When appraisal processes differ

Policies can use different methods to find the value of a home, which can cause the values to vary greatly from each other. Depending on the policy, an insurable value can be based on the total reconstruction of a home. This differs from an appraisal or assessment, which may be looking at the replacement cost of that same home. In other words, a reconstruction value captures all of the additive costs associated with rebuilding after a loss. This is the preferred methodology used by insurers to determine homeowner coverage limits. A replacement cost is defined as the cost to replace with a substitute of like or equal utility. This may not be focusing on the total exposure a homeowner may face after a fire or flood. Also, an appraisal or assessment often considers the land as part of the value, whereas an insurance appraisal may be for the structure only and/or other items specifically listed in the policy.

What can be done

Today, lessons learned from natural disasters have led to improvements in technology that help appraisers and assessors overcome these challenges, allowing us to better mitigate risk. Using tools that identifying perils associated with a property is crucial. Knowing the risk of fires, flood and earthquakes can help support the true value of a property. These tools offer greater insights with metrics that go beyond what a standard appraisal may be looking at. If information is power, then having full disclosure of a property helps protect families and businesses from financial catastrophe.

© 2019 CoreLogic, Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Category: Blogs, Hazard HQ, Intelligence
  • Tags: Appraisal, Natural Hazard, Valuation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Edward Martinez
Edward Martinez
Principal, Industry Solutions
View Profile

Related Posts

mississippi tornadoes
Blogs

March 24 EF-4 Tornado in Mississippi

CoreLogic estimates over 4,100 homes were within the path of the tornado that hit Mississippi on March 24, 2023.

March 29, 2023
California Atmospheric Rivers
Core Conversations

What Was it Really Like to Live Through the California Floods? Our Team Spills | Part 2

In Part 2, host Maiclaire Bolton Smith talks about the atmospheric rivers and the snow that has made headlines and headway in altering California’s natural hazard landscape.

March 29, 2023
CSI_Promo_Mar2023
Blogs

US CoreLogic S&P Case-Shiller Index Gain Slows to Pre-Pandemic Low, Up by 3.8% Year Over Year in January

The index continued to decline year over year in January, again posting a single-digit gain.

March 28, 2023

About Corelogic

  • Newsroom
  • Leadership
  • Careers
  • Ethics & Compliance

Accounts

  • Products Sign-in

Contact

  • Sales Contact
  • Product Support

Regions

  • CoreLogic Australia
  • CoreLogic New Zealand
  • CoreLogic UK

Follow & Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
© 2023 CoreLogic. All rights reserved.
  • Legal
  • Privacy Policy
  • CCPA
  • Cookie Preferences
  • Security
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Legal
  • Privacy Policy
  • CCPA
  • Cookie Preferences
  • Security
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility