Selling Your Home: 6 Tips to Help You Maximize the Appraisal

When getting ready to sell or refinance your home, one of the first things you’ll need to do is have it appraised. An appraisal provides you with the general value of the home, which is then used by banks for approving loans and has a big influence on the property’s asking price. With this in mind, you want to do everything you can to maximize the appraised value. The following tips can push the appraised value of your home up by thousands of dollars, and can often be done without too much time or money!

Choose a Local Appraiser

Don’t make the mistake of choosing the first appraiser you find with a Google search or having your bank send you one. Instead, find an appraiser who lives and/or works as close to your home as possible. This will help ensure that the appraiser knows all the great things about the neighborhood, which can really help to push the value in the right direction.

Give the Appraiser Information on Comparable Properties

Take some time to find some homes in your neighborhood that have sold in the past year or so, and provide the information to the appraiser. Choosing homes that are similar to yours and sold for a good price can have a surprisingly significant influence on the numbers that the appraiser comes up with. Of course, if homes in your area have been going for significantly lower than they should, you won’t want to follow this tip.

Have a List of Home Improvements Done

If you’ve done any home improvements in the past couple years (or longer for major improvements), make sure you point them out to your appraiser. If possible, show them some before and after photos so they can see how much you’ve improved the home. Appraisers usually start with the price you paid for the home in mind, so anything you can do to show improvement will push that price up.

Clean Your Home & Yard

This one should go without saying, but far too often, people will neglect taking the time to really deep clean their home and manage their yard. If you’re short on time, it is well worth it to hire a house cleaner and landscaper to come in and take care of everything for you. A home that is very clean will appear well-maintained and valued, which is important in determining its value.

Invest on High Return–Low Cost Improvements

In the weeks and months leading up to an appraisal, consider investing in some simple home improvements that can help everything to look a lot nicer. A fresh coat of paint, renting a professional carpet cleaner, replacing a front door, and other ‘little’ things can boost your appraisal value by more than you might expect.

Talk Up the Town

While you don’t want to put pressure on the appraiser, try to work in positive things about the area surrounding the home into the conversation. Mention schools, malls, access to transportation conveniences, and anything else that you can think of to make your home more attractive.

By following these simple tips, you can help ensure the appraiser sees your home in the best possible light. This can help ensure your home is appraised at the highest possible price so you can sell it or refinance it without any trouble.

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Law Office of Ray Garcia, P.A.

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