Top Ways To Prepare For Your Real Estate Appraisal When Selling
After you accept an offer for your home, the buyer will start working on the necessary steps to close on the property. One of these steps is an appraisal. The appraiser they hire will schedule the visit to your home with you, and you might want to take a few steps to prepare for this event. Here are some of the things that you can do to prepare for your home appraisal.
Finish Any Work the Home Needs
Before the appraiser comes to your home, you might want to work on finishing any work your home needs. If they see unfinished projects or broken things, they will consider it in the final appraisal amount. By finishing the projects, they cannot decrease your home's value for the work it needs, as it will not need any work.
Plan to Be There During It
The appraiser will need access to the inside and outside of your home for this service, so you will need to have someone there for this purpose. It is best if you can be there for it, though. If you are there, you can walk with the appraiser as they perform the assessment. You can answer questions if they have any, and you can point out all the top features and perks your home offers. The appraisal will consider all the information you provide, so you should make sure you offer as many positive things as possible.
Give a List of Updates
While the appraiser is there, you might also want to provide them with a list of all the updates you made to the home. You can include any updates within the past five years or so, and you can include small ones and big ones. Any updates you recently made can increase your home's value. For example, if you replaced the roof five years ago, this can increase your home's value. If you remodeled the kitchen last year, this might also add to the value. If you installed energy-efficient systems in the home, add those to the list.
Find Your Own Comps
The final thing you might want to do is to find your own comps. Appraisers find similar homes to compare houses to when they perform appraisals. They call these comps. If you research your local area, you can find the best comps to use. You can print them and give them to the appraiser as a suggestion.
If you have questions or need to schedule a real estate appraisal, contact a real estate agent or a local appraiser.
