Appraised Value

This is NOT the dumpy offer you got when you tried to sell your too-small designer jeans on eBay last month. (Do the words "Ben and Jerry’s" have anything to do with this auction?)

Appraised value is more applicable to valuing your home for tax purposes and/or resale. You might check Zillow for ballparks of its market value. In this case, a mush pot of statistics were used to determine how much your house appears to be worth (based on its lot, location, average prices in your 'hood paid per square foot, how old it is, what school district it's in, and whether or not there are a whole bunch of homes for sale in the area).

You’ll get an appraised value, which will be the value given by the appraisal management company. This value is going to be more specific than the market value because the appraiser has been in the house and evaluated it up front and center. (I.e., if you’ve got fireplace cracks, the appraiser will notice and ding the value of your home.)