If you are planning to sell your home, having an accurate appraisal can be the most important step in the process.
Having someone come into your home and judge its value can be a stressful process. However, if you know how to properly prepare for this step, you can rest easy that the appraisal will go favorably and get you one step closer to your new home.
1. Make sure to do your research
When it comes time to get your teeth cleaned or your child’s well check, you spend some time researching the dentist or doctor before you schedule an appointment.
It is important to do the same thing before you choose an appraiser for your home. It is essential that you hire an appraiser who is state certified. You want to make sure that they are properly trained and qualified.
Also, consider hiring an appraiser who is local to your area and as enough years of experience to have seen changes in the market over time. A local appraiser will be familiar with the amenities near your home and the reputation of your neighborhood and school district.
2. Make sure your maintenance is 100%
Take a step back and look around the inside and the outside of your home. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer and make note of anything that would turn you off about purchasing your home.
Whether it is old carpet, a roof that needs replacing or uneven paint it is important to address any maintenance needs around your home before you schedule the appraisal.
Any obvious signs that your home needs some work could reduce its value. Be ready to present the appraiser with a list of work that you have done around your home and how much money you spent.
If you have replaced the water heater in the last year, had the roof inspected, installed a new HVAC system – all of these efforts to maintain and improve the integrity of your home are important things for the appraiser to know about.
3. Don’t forget the landscaping
Curb appeal is very important to potential buyers and thus, important to the appraisal of your home. Your home should draw attention as the nicest looking home on the block for anyone who is driving by.
Any dead plants should be removed or replaced, the lawn should be healthy and recently mowed, and any trees should be pruned and well taken care of.
If your yard looks dry and brown with overgrown bushes covering the windows and dangerous branches hanging from trees over the roof, your home is not making a good first impression.
This could turn away potential buyers as well as reduce the overall value during appraisal.
4. Double-check all of your appliances
If you have been nursing along any appliances with special Fonzy punches to get them to start – that stops now. When you schedule an appraisal of your home all of your appliances should be in perfect working condition.
The cost of having a malfunctioning dishwasher replaced is far less expensive than the amount that it will devalue your appraisal.
Don’t put off replacing anything that is not working properly. Make sure to have new or perfectly working appliances throughout your home before you schedule your appraisal.
5. Make sure your home is nicely staged
While your furnishings and decor won’t count for or against the overall value, it does show pride of ownership if you tidy up and make things look nice.
Having your home look welcoming and well cared for sets a good tone for the appraisal and is good practice for when it comes time to start showing to potential buyers.
6. Check the comps in your neighborhood
Before you schedule your appraisal, do a little research to find out what homes in your neighborhood have been selling for. This will give you some solid information on what to expect of your home’s value.
Also, if you know any background information about any of the sales in your neighborhood it is important to share that with your appraiser.
For instance, if there were extenuating circumstances and someone had to sell quickly causing the price to be much lower than market value.
Comps are a great way to get an accurate value but, it is important to consider everything happening in the neighborhood that may have influenced those comps.
7. Understand the value of your upgrades
Unfortunately, the cost of any upgrades that you made to your home doesn’t translate into that same amount of value.
For instance, spending $20,000 on a kitchen remodel doesn’t necessarily mean that your home is now worth $20,000 more.
When you are having your home appraised, it is important to share with the appraiser any upgrades that you made and how much you spent. However, it is also important not to expect those upgrades to dramatically influence the overall value.
8. If you don’t agree with your appraisal, don’t settle
If you have some data that supports any concerns that you have about the appraised amount of your home, make sure that you contact the appraiser and have a discussion.
You can also get a second appraisal from a different appraiser. It is important that you are satisfied with the appraised value of your home to ensure that the selling process goes the way that you want.