It may seem like there are a million things to do in preparing to sell your home. In this very short article, we will highlight one very important step -appraisal and how to increase your home’s appraisal value.
The appraisal process is one that will impact your bottom line the most ( and possibly in addition to home inspection repairs request).
First off, it’s important to learn about the appraisal process and how to increase your home’s maximum appraisal value in our video below.
Note that home appraisal helps a buyer determine how much financing they need to purchase your home.
**TIP! Prepare for the appraiser’s visit just like you would for the first interested buyer who comes to view your home.
Appraisers can be impressed with a neat clean home just like anyone else. And since they’ll be determining your home’s value, you’ll want to impress them!
Understanding Comps
Appraisers begin by finding the value of a home by choosing nearby and recent comparable sales, or “comps”. They look within your home’s community, and whenever possible find the exact model and match for homes that have recently sold. The better the match and the more recent the sale, the more weight that price can have in determining the final appraised value.
If no comparable homes within the community have recently sold, the appraiser expands his view to homes within a one-mile radius, within 20% of the same square footage, and to homes sold within the past six months (these are the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines for secondary market investors).
Evaluating the Property
The appraiser inspects, measures and photographs the entire home. After evaluating the condition of the property, the materials used in construction and other particular items that make it unique, the appraiser compares these homes against your home to come up with a value.
The appraisal could be what you expect or better, or even below what you actually paid for the home. Remember, the appraiser is only considering sold comparable homes. And any pending sales that fetch a higher price could also boost your home’s appraisal value.
Whatever the case might be, you should look at simple strategies for boosting the value.
**TIP! The appraiser may ask you what upgrades you have done since owning the home – and they’ll likely give you extra value for your efforts!
Be a step ahead of the appraiser and have a copy of all of your remodeling invoices in a neat folder for the appraiser to take along.
Timing to Sell Your House
Sell in May… and Go Away!
Prepare your home to sell in May.
According to a study by Zillow.com, the best time of year to sell your home is the month of May. Homes on the market May 1 through May 15 sold roughly 18.5 days sooner than homes that weren’t listed in the same timeframe. Those homes also sold at roughly 1% higher price too! See the full article here.
Tips for Downsizing or Rightsizing
Not only knowing what to declutter, but how to do it!
Jewelry, heirlooms, collections and sentimental items needing special care can complicate the process.
Start eliminating your stuff at least 3 months before your move.
Make 3 separate piles… one for keeping, selling and giving away (and don’t throw away – recycle, reuse, sell and donate whatever possible).
And for the finer details on “the how”, here’s a list of 12 things you should never discard and why.
From DreamWell Homes Realty:
How is the housing market in San Diego County?
Local Market Statistics for San Diego County (North County San Diego Association of Realtors)
