How to Prepare Your Home for Appraisal?

If you are deciding to sell your home or refinance your mortgage, leaping in for a professional appraisal by a real estate appraiser will give you a good start. A licensed appraiser will help you sort out the true value of your home in an open market which is rather competitive. An appraisal is something that most refinance products are asking which works well considering the greater the stamped value of your home the bigger price it will fetch when it goes on sale or refinance. Preparing for an appraisal thus assumes great importance and shouldn’t be done in a tacky way.

Here are a few suggestions on getting appraisal-ready

Be your critique

Before the real estate appraiser comes knocking on your door, check out any areas that may require maintenance and which on repair could jack up the price of your home. Leaking floors, loose floorboards, choke gutters can all run down the selling price if you keep them that way and attempt to sell.

Is your home safe?

People take safety issues quite seriously when deciding on a home purchase. So you must ensure your home is embedded with safety equipment which could be smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and home security alarms, among other things. All this gear must be in sound working condition if you wish to point out to the appraiser the good upkeep of your home. This principle of safety works well in the case of a commercial property appraisal as well.

Keep the appraiser posted on home improvements

An appraiser will be interested in learning about any latest steps taken to run the home efficiently. This would include repairs and upgrades by way of replaced HVAC units, siding, gutters, a new roof, remodeled kitchens, updated bathrooms and so forth. In fact, there is no need to wait for an appraisal to do things to improve the home. As a practice renewals and maintenance should be regular. When the time comes to sell, they will bring about a positive impact in totality.

Do your homework well

You must undertake a general research on other homes in your neighborhood before you thrust your home for an appraisal. What is the value of homes similar to yours in your neighborhood? What about the sale prices of homes sold in your area in recent months? What problems may have been encountered during their appraisals? Though this information is publicly recorded in most cases, it is a good idea to speak to your neighbors. They may be able to help you hit some common problems off at the pass if they’ve recently undergone an appraisal.

Though these are just a few of the many things to be done to be well-armed before an appraisal you will find much value in following them. So go ahead and make your house as appealing as possible, but don’t stress about it too much.