How to increase your home appraisal value

Contact Ken Tritle, Realtor® and San Diego Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) at DreamWell Homes Realty for a personalized Ocean Hills Country Club tour and consultation – Call or Text 760-798-9024. Thank you!

How to increase your home appraisal value

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 timeframeThose 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). 

See a list of 10 tips here.

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:

21 Tips for Selling Success

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Contact Ken Tritle at DreamWell Homes Realty – Call or Text 760-798-9024. Thank you!

About dreamwellhomes 356 Articles
DreamWell Homes Realty is a locally owned San Diego husband and wife real estate team (Realtor® | Real Estate Broker). Jean and Ken Tritle offer their home buyer and seller clients the best professional and personalized real estate representation with unparalleled service and guidance in San Diego County | Southern California from San Diego to San Clemente. For more information, please call or text Jean and Ken Tritle at 760-798-9024 or email jeanken@dreamwellhomes.com. Thank you! DreamWell Homes Realty CA DRE# 01777754. Mailing address: 1902 Wright Place, 2nd Floor, Carlsbad, CA 92008 | San Diego County, California.