Most people meet an appraiser once or twice in their life, usually at a moment when something significant is happening: a purchase, a refinance, a sale. These guides cover what actually happens during a residential appraisal in Metro Atlanta, written by the appraiser doing the work rather than by a marketing department.
Recurring themes worth knowing before you read further: square footage in county tax records is wrong often enough that it should never be relied on, condition matters far more than most sellers expect, and an appraisal answers a narrower question than most people assume. It is an opinion of market value for a stated purpose on a stated date, not a prediction and not a guarantee.
