Insurance Appraisal vs Home Appraisal

So I signed up for homeowners insurance at the time of my purchase and while I was arranging everything I asked if they wanted or needed a copy of the home appraisal. They said there would be no need they trusted me as a long time valued customer blah blah blah (I have my auto insurance, checking and savings accounts and a credit card with them).

Then last week I got a call from an insurance appraisal company asking to arrange a time to see the place in order to validate the information I provided for my homeowners insurance. I'm a bit confused and offer to send my appraisal over in an attempt to have one less thing for me to do, but no they require this additional appraisal. At least I don't have to directly pay for it, but still I have to make my house available to someone to walk through, measure, check boxes and jot down notes. If I was this insurance company I would save myself some money and use the home appraisal.

Appraisals are a Total Scam

The whole appraisal process is a total scam. I pay a guy $400 to checkout my house and compare it to other recent sales in the neighborhood, but all I get back is the exact price I’m purchasing the property for. In my opinion this guy is playing it safe and is just writing down the price I’m paying because that’s the easiest answer. If I was a lender or a mortgage insurance company I would be highly suspicious of an appraisal that was equal to the exact purchase price. Hopefully the DC tax assessment will provide a more accurate appraised value and will get me closer to 20% equity in the house and help me put an end to mortgage insurance.

The one good thing about the appraisal process is that I get a rough floor plan.