Having your
house appraised
can be a scary
step in the
moving process,
especially if
you don’t know
what to expect.
Will your house
pass muster or
will they find
some hidden
defects and
problems lurking
in the basement
and attic?
Should you scrub
the house clean?
Don’t worry –
this isn’t a
test of how
clean you keep
your house or
even if your
house has
problems (that
will be for the
home inspector
to find out).
The appraiser is
there to
determine a fair
market value for
your home.
Whether you are
selling the
house or
refinancing,
this is a common
part of the
process and the
inspector is
quite used to
traipsing about
peoples homes in
all kinds of
disarray so you
need not be
embarrassed if
your house is
messy and it
will not affect
the value the
appraiser puts
on the property.
Determining the
market value of
your home is
necessary so
that your lender
knows the home
is valued at or
above the amount
of money you are
borrowing. An
appraisal is an
estimate of
worth. It is an
opinion but is
not entirely a
subjective
process. The
FNMA, Federal
National
Mortgage
Association sets
up the
guidelines and
assigns values
to certain
assets of your
home to ensure a
fair sale.
The value of
your home will
be determined by
comparing it to
similar area
properties that
have sold in the
past few months.
The appraiser
looks for
properties that
have the same
number of
bedrooms, baths,
square footage
and amenities
like a fireplace
or garage in
your
neighborhood or
town. They start
by looking at
your
neighborhood to
find comparable
sales or
properties in
similar
neighborhoods
that share
similar
characteristics
of lifestyles,
income level of
residents,
surroundings,
average age and
home values. A
valid appraisal
can be done when
3 or more
properties
similar to your
own have been
found.
Once the
appraiser has
these homes,
there will be
some adjustments
made to take
into
consideration
features that
your home has
the others don’t
or features they
have that you
don’t. These
features have
nothing to do
with your décor
– they are based
solely on house
size, rooms and
amenities so
your hot pink
kitchen will not
affect the value
of your home
appraisal!
The process is
quite methodical
and done to
standard
practices so you
need not worry.
If you are
moving and you
have hired a
realtor, you
will find the
appraisal will
come in right on
the button for
what they have
valued your home
at. Most
realtors know
the market quite
well so you
needn’t worry
that your buyer
won’t be able to
secure funding
because of your
home appraisal.
