People get their home appraised for many reasons. Most commonly, a home appraisal is part of the selling process. Sometimes, a home appraisal is needed for insurance or refinancing purposes. No matter what the reason, there are things you can do to make your appraisal more successful.
Start by hiring a qualified, licensed appraiser in your state. Ask for a referral from your real estate agent, insurance agent or loan officer. Once you decide on an appraiser, provide them with all the information they will need. Start by explaining the purpose for the appraisal. Next, compile the paperwork. Some items you should have available are recent real estate tax bills, recent inspection reports, any surveys that have been done for your land and any written agreements related to the house. Create a list of updates that have been made to the house. Provide the date of the updates and the costs involved. Did you have a new dishwasher installed? That’s an update. Consider anything you have done to increase the value of your home.
Condition counts. What the appraiser sees will set the tone for their appraisal. Start with the outside. Has the lawn been mowed? Are the bushes trimmed? How does the siding look? You want to make a good impression from the time the appraiser drives up. The same goes for the inside. You want to present a clean, organized home. An appraiser doesn’t want to see work that needs to be done, like missing carpet, torn wallpaper, broken fixtures, missing tiles and so on. Keep the house at a comfortable temperature. If it’s summer, turn on the air conditioning, if it’s winter, turn on the furnace. In essence, you are trying to create a comfortable environment for the appraiser.
Make the appraisal process distraction free. This means cage or remove pets from the home. The same goes for the kids. Send them to Grandma’s for the day, if possible. Make yourself available to answer any questions, but for the most part, stay out of the way. The appraiser has a job to do and may want to avoid small talk, at least until the appraisal is done.
Having your house appraised can be stressful. The key is to be prepared. Try to anticipate the needs of your appraiser, supply them with all the information required and let them do their job.
By Craig W. Armstrong MultiAd.com
