Home appraisal time, are you nervous yet? Don’t be, this doesn’t have to be a nerve-wracking experience for you. If you use the right tools, and go into the process well informed this can be a pretty easy experience. The following information will also help you make substantial gains in your journey towards your next home.
Did you study up?
As with most aspects of the real estate process, it’s good to do your homework. The appraisal process is really no different, make sure you’ve looked into the market thoroughly. Presumably, your appraiser is a local who is quite versed in the local market. Also, make sure they’re certified, you could come across an appraiser who has yet to receive their certification.
Home Maintenance
A week before, or at least a few days before the appraiser arrives do one final inspection. Make sure everything is clean and well organized. Don’t bet on something looking “okay” or “holding up” until just after the appraisal. Make the investment in whatever improvement needs to be made. You need to be thinking long term with these improvements, their impact on your home value could be important.
Curb Appeal
Always go for the best-looking house on the block when you’re about to get an appraisal. One of the biggest aspects of curb appeal is the landscaping. A beautiful home can get dinged by an unkempt front yard with weeds and unruly grass. At the very least clean up the front, make sure the lawn is mowed, weeds pulled leaves collected and that there’s no trash.
Check the Appliances
Have you checked all the appliances? Make sure if they’re not new that they’re all running efficiently. A malfunctioning large home appliance can certainly impact your home’s value. So, if need be you should replace the appliance or check your warranty and call the manufacturer to see if you can have repairs done.
Be a proud owner
By this I mean just show your home is taken care of because of your proud ownership. We don’t need to go in-depth on specifics here just show you really care about your home. Proud ownership is certainly reflected in the quality of the home.
How well do you know your neighborhood?
Prior to getting your home appraised it’s important to see what the nearby homes in your neighborhood are currently valued at. The neighboring home values are a very strong influence on your home’s appraisal value.
Be sure to discuss any unusual circumstances with your appraiser prior to your valuation. If you had a neighbor who moved quickly and sold his home abruptly for whatever reason it can impact your home valuation. If both you and your appraiser are well informed on what’s been happening in your neighborhood it will only help you.
Cost does not equate to value
We discussed how minor improvements can make a difference to your home’s overall value. However, not every single improvement you try to make will bring up your home value. Understanding that will make the appraisal process much easier. Understanding effective economic return is very important when it comes to home value. Before you make huge expenditures simply in the name of using your home value research that exact principle.
Are you not entirely satisfied?
If you aren’t entirely satisfied with your appraisal value, you should contact the appraiser. If you do have concerns, make sure you have data to validate them. Another option is to hire another appraiser and get a second appraisal.
Finally, if you’re still not satisfied you can take your issues to the appraisal board. However, rarely will two home appraisals entirely skewed. Be sure to consult your agent as well, undoubtedly they have been involved with this process before and as usual, they should be your number one source of go to information.
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