Q.  Should I get an Appraisal for a property if I am paying cash for the purchase?

A.  Of course!  Please do not neglect to do this very important process of purchase transaction.

When a mortgage is being obtained for a purchase of a property, the lending institution will hire their own appraiser at your expense to evaluate fair market value of the property and this will be a required process of a loan.  However, if you are paying cash, and since there will be no one requiring for you to get an appraisal, you can easily overlook this very important step. 

NC Real Estate Offer to Purchase Agreement has a section where a cash purchase buyer can indicate and make it a part of the contract that the property’s value appraised has to come back at least the selling price.  I have seen more than a few cases of where the buyers are paying cash for their purchase and have paid more than a possible appraisal value of the home.  Of course, anything that has a price will have the value of such price if and as long as someone is willing to pay that price regardless of objective and professional evaluation of a market value.  However, if your intention is to pay a fair price, objectively calculated based on hard data, do recommendation of a reputable appraiser and get it appraised!