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It's just funny that when I bought it less than a year and a half ago it had to be appraised for what I paid right?



Generally.. but appraisal value is based on what comparable properties in the area have sold for within the last few months, not years. Like Bill said, you can perform an initial appraisal yourself. Search for your local county/city property appraiser web site where you can get the particulars on your property. They should have a search feature for recent sales that you can use. Try to find properties as close to your home as possible that are as similar to yours as possible (square footage, construction, year built, extra features like a pool, etc..) that have sold within the last 2-3 months. Try to locate at least 3-5 such properties, discard any unusually high or low sales prices, and make sure the ones you use are listed as 'qualified' sales according to the property appraisers office.

I do this all the time, sometimes on a dozen or more different properties a month, and have always wound up with numbers within a couple thousand of what the 'professional' appraisers come up with.

Cheers,
Brad

To be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid.