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Slater Appraisals, Inc.
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Residential Real Estate Appraisals in Palm Beach & Broward County

Straightforward residential real estate appraisals from Slater Appraisals, Inc.. Independent, well-supported valuations with clear, upfront fees.

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A residential appraisal becomes necessary in more situations than most homeowners expect. You might be refinancing and the lender requires an independent value opinion, or you're settling a legal matter and need documentation that will hold up to scrutiny. Estates need to establish what a property was worth, buyers want to confirm they're not overpaying, and owners involved in disputes need a number that isn't tied to anyone's commission. In each of these cases, the quality of the report matters as much as the number itself — a poorly supported appraisal can be challenged, delayed, or rejected entirely.

Every residential real estate appraisal from Slater Appraisals, Inc. begins with a full interior and exterior inspection of the property. Robin Slater personally walks the home, photographs it, measures and sketches the floor plan, and then researches comparable sales that are genuinely close in location, condition, and character to the subject property. The analysis focuses on what buyers in that specific neighborhood are actually paying, not on broad market averages that might not reflect the street-level reality. The finished report is written to be defensible — structured so that a lender underwriter, an attorney, or a reviewing accountant can follow the logic without needing to ask follow-up questions.

Slater Appraisals, Inc. has worked across Palm Beach County and Broward County long enough to recognize how much market conditions can vary from one neighborhood to the next, and even from one block to the next in fast-changing areas of West Palm Beach. When a report comes back from Robin Slater, clients aren't receiving a form filled in by someone unfamiliar with the area. They receive a written, supported opinion of value prepared by someone who knows the local market deeply. The outcome is a document you can use with confidence — whether you hand it to a lender, an attorney, or simply use it to make a well-informed financial decision.

What's Included

Every residential real estate appraisals visit includes

  • Full interior and exterior inspection
  • Neighborhood-specific comparable sales analysis
  • Written, defensible report
  • Personally handled by Robin Slater

Fee quoted per assignment

Service Area

Serving Palm Beach & Broward County

West Palm BeachBoca RatonDelray BeachBoynton BeachWellingtonJupiterFort LauderdalePompano BeachCoral SpringsHollywood
The Process

How a residential appraisal works

1

Schedule the inspection

Call or send the property details. Robin confirms the scope of the assignment — the intended use of the report, who will rely on it, and the effective date of value.

2

On-site inspection

Robin walks the property inside and out, measures it, photographs each area, and notes condition, updates, and anything that will matter to the analysis.

3

Market research

Comparable sales are pulled for the subject's own neighborhood and adjusted for differences in size, condition, lot, and features — not just whatever sold nearby.

4

Written report

You receive a complete written appraisal with the value conclusion, the comparables relied on, photographs, a sketch, and the reasoning behind every adjustment.

When You Need One

Common reasons to order a residential appraisal

A lender orders an appraisal when there's a mortgage involved — but plenty of situations call for your own independent valuation:

  • Buying or selling without a lender in the middle — cash deals, family transfers, for-sale-by-owner
  • Establishing value for a trust, financial planning, or a property settlement
  • Documenting value before or after major renovations
  • A second opinion when a lender's appraisal came in unexpectedly low
  • Conventional and FHA assignments alike — Robin is approved for both
Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about this service

A comparative market analysis is a pricing tool prepared by an agent, often at no charge, to win or support a listing. An appraisal is an independent, written opinion of value prepared by a licensed appraiser with no stake in whether the property sells. Lenders, courts, the IRS, and attorneys rely on appraisals — not CMAs — precisely because of that independence.

No special preparation is required. Robin needs access to every room, the garage, and the exterior. If you have documentation of updates — a new roof, remodeled kitchen, impact windows — have it handy; permitted improvements can matter to the analysis.

Location, living area, lot, condition, and the quality of recent updates carry the most weight, measured against what comparable homes in your immediate market have actually sold for. In South Florida, construction era, storm protection, and proximity to water can also move value meaningfully.

Yes. Buyers regularly order independent appraisals in cash purchases, new-construction contracts, and negotiations where they want evidence of value before committing. The report is confidential to you as the client.

Also Available

Other services we handle

Full list on our services page.

Estate & Date-of-Death Appraisals

Retrospective valuations for estate settlement and probate, giving attorneys, executors, and families a defensible value as of the date required. Reports are prepared to IRS-friendly standards with historical comparable sales pulled from the effective date, not today's market. Used for step-up in basis calculations, estate tax filings, and distribution among heirs. Delivered in a format that won't slow down a probate filing or trigger follow-up questions from an accountant or auditor.

Learn more

Divorce & Family Law Appraisals

Independent, unbiased valuations for equitable distribution. Clear, well-supported reports that stand up in negotiation and in court. Robin works with attorneys on both sides and with mediators, and can serve as a neutral joint appraiser when both parties agree. Reports include full supporting documentation and can be accompanied by testimony if the case requires it. Confidential handling, professional communication with counsel, and turnaround that respects court and mediation deadlines.

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Pre-Listing Appraisals

Know what your home is really worth before you list. An objective valuation that helps sellers price with confidence and avoid leaving money on the table, or chasing the market down with price cuts. Unlike a broker's opinion, a pre-listing appraisal is prepared by a disinterested third party with no commission at stake. Useful for owners considering a sale, negotiating with a buyer directly, or evaluating an offer that came in below expectations.

Learn more

Tax Assessment Appeals

An independent appraisal to support a property tax appeal when your assessed value looks out of line with the market. Palm Beach and Broward County assessments can lag or overshoot actual values, especially in fast-moving neighborhoods. A defensible appraisal, prepared as of the assessment date, gives you the evidence needed to petition the Value Adjustment Board or negotiate directly with the property appraiser's office. Timing matters, so call early in the appeal window.

Learn more

PMI Removal Appraisals

Current-value appraisals homeowners can use to petition their lender to remove private mortgage insurance once equity supports it. Many South Florida owners have gained enough value to drop PMI but don't realize the lender will accept an independent appraisal as evidence. The report is prepared to standard lender format so it can be submitted directly to your servicer. In most cases the appraisal fee is recovered within a couple of months of PMI savings.

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Condominium Appraisals

Valuations for condos and townhomes across South Florida's condo-dense coastal markets, with attention to association factors that affect value. That means looking at HOA financials, reserves, special assessments, milestone inspection status, insurance, and rental rules, all of which move the number in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and points between. Comparables are drawn from within the building or complex where possible, and adjusted carefully for view, floor, and exposure.

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Free Estimate

Get a free residential real estate appraisals estimate

Tell us about the job and we'll come out and measure it. Written estimate before any work starts, no obligation.

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Residential Real Estate Appraisals in Palm Beach & Broward County

Slater Appraisals, Inc. delivers independently prepared, lender-ready residential appraisal reports across West Palm Beach and surrounding South Florida communities — every assignment handled personally by Robin Slater.

What Makes South Florida Residential Appraisals Different

Palm Beach and Broward County present valuation challenges that don't appear in most markets. Neighborhoods within the same ZIP code can have meaningfully different value profiles — a canal-access lot in Wellington carries a premium that an otherwise identical interior lot does not, and coastal properties in areas like Boca Raton or Pompano Beach require careful attention to flood zone designation, wind mitigation features, and insurance-driven buyer behavior that directly affects what comparable buyers will pay.

Construction era matters here in ways that go beyond typical condition adjustments. Homes built before South Florida's post-Andrew building code reforms (mid-1990s) are underwritten differently by insurers and perceived differently by buyers, which means an appraiser selecting comparables must account for that divide rather than mix eras casually. Impact-rated windows and doors, reinforced roofing systems, and generator hookups are all features that move value in this market in ways that national automated valuation models consistently miss.

Slater Appraisals, Inc. has worked across these counties long enough to know which neighborhoods are experiencing rapid turnover, where assessments lag behind actual market conditions, and how to find genuinely comparable sales in low-inventory pockets like parts of Delray Beach or Jupiter where only a handful of transactions may be available in any given quarter.

How Residential Appraisal Reports Are Actually Used — and Why Report Quality Matters

A residential appraisal report isn't just a number on a page — it's a documented argument that a specific property is worth a specific amount, supported by evidence a lender underwriter, an estate attorney, or a reviewing accountant can follow without calling to ask follow-up questions. When a report lacks that depth, it gets kicked back, delayed, or rejected, which costs the client time regardless of whether the value conclusion itself was reasonable.

For mortgage transactions, Fannie Mae and FHA guidelines dictate specific requirements around comparable selection, adjustment methodology, and market condition disclosures — requirements that an appraisal prepared for a private sale may not need to meet but that a report prepared for a lender absolutely must. Robin Slater is approved for both conventional and FHA assignments, so the report you receive is structured to clear underwriting without revision requests.

For non-lender uses — estate settlements, divorce proceedings, tax assessment appeals, or pre-listing decisions — the standard shifts from regulatory compliance to evidentiary defensibility. The report needs to withstand scrutiny from an opposing attorney or a Value Adjustment Board hearing officer, not just a desk reviewer. The same care that goes into a lender report goes into every private-client assignment.

Common questions

How long does it take to get a residential appraisal report in West Palm Beach?
Turnaround depends on assignment complexity and current scheduling, but most standard residential appraisals in Palm Beach and Broward County are delivered within five to seven business days of the inspection. If you have a lender deadline or a court filing date, share that at the time you schedule — Robin confirms turnaround before the assignment begins so there are no surprises at delivery.
What if the appraised value comes in lower than the sale price or the lender's estimate?
A value conclusion that differs from expectations is only a problem if the report can't support it — a well-documented appraisal explains exactly which comparables were used, how adjustments were derived, and why the conclusion follows from the evidence. If you believe a lender-ordered appraisal was incorrect, a second independent appraisal from Slater Appraisals, Inc. gives you a documented counterpoint you can submit for reconsideration of value under standard lender review procedures.
Do you appraise condominiums and townhomes, or only single-family homes?
Condominium and townhome appraisals are a dedicated service offering — South Florida's condo market, from high-rise units in Fort Lauderdale to garden-style communities across Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, has its own comparable pool and HOA-related valuation factors that require separate handling from single-family analysis. Both property types are appraised personally by Robin Slater under the same process.

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