The Complete Guide That Makes Improving Your Home Appraisal Value Easy

If you’ve made the decision to sell your home or refinance your mortgage, you’ll have to face the home appraisal process. If you plan on selling your home without a realtor or for cash, you can often avoid a home appraisal.

During this process, you’re looking for the highest dollar-value amount when it comes to home appraisal value so that you can make the sale (and any chance of a profit) you’re hoping for. 

Here’s how to prepare your home so that it meets home appraisal standards and you’re guaranteed a worthwhile sale. 

 

Focus on Your Exterior and Boost Home Appraisal Value

Never underestimate the power of a first impression. Sure, you’ve probably heard of this sentiment before. But it could not be more important when it comes to the perceived value of your home from the outside. 

The overall impression of your home from the exterior plays an integral role in not only how fast you sell it, but the appraisal and valuation process. Here’s how to increase your chances of a better valuation: 

Curb Appeal 

You want to put real effort into what your home looks like from the street. This includes repainting the exterior if it needs a touch-up. Fix up your guttering system if it looks a little run down.

Have your windows professionally cleaned. Make sure all of your exterior lights work and your home’s driveway or entry pathway looks inviting. 

Landscaping 

It goes without saying that a well-maintained yard, trimmed shrubbery, trees, and fresh flowers can totally transform the aesthetic of your home. You want to put some effort into your landscaping, even if your yard is on the small side. 

If there’s anything that can derail the look and feel of your home’s exterior, it’s an unkempt, overgrown, and neglect yard. 

Roofing and Siding 

The quality of your home’s exterior siding also plays a huge role in what your home looks like from the outside. As well as the value of your home appraisal. The same goes for the quality of your roofing and guttering system. 

Make sure to do a once-over of these important parts of your exterior and call in professional help to fix up any problem areas before your appraisal.

Turn Your Attention To Indoor Improvements

Whether you choose to hire the expertise of a real estate agent or go at it alone (view here for more on that), you’ll also need to put some real effort into your home’s interior.

While the exterior of your home creates the very first impression, you don’t want that bubble to burst when the home appraiser crosses your front door threshold. Here are a few indoor improvements to consider: 

Deep Cleaning 

Now is the time to ensure your home is a clean as it’s ever been. Whether you attempt to do this yourself or hire professional cleaners, you want to make sure your home is sparkling when appraisal day arrives. 

Essentially, your home should appear as minimal as possible too. It’s a good idea to remove any excess clutter, picture frames, and personal decor items. It should appear as a clean slate so that the appraiser is not distracted by anything else. 

Concentrate on Small Fixes 

As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Take a close look within all the rooms of your home and try to pinpoint any areas that need attention, fixing or a new coat of paint. It’s as simple as patching up these smaller imperfections so that each room looks as good as new. 

By taking the time to correct any of your home’s interior blemishes, it gives the impression that your home is well-maintained. 

Make a Point of Highlighting Major Improvements 

If you’ve recently had some major work done on your home, this is your chance to make a note of it and point it out to the appraiser. Whether you’ve refurbished your patio area, re-roofed your home, or replaced all your kitchen appliances, don’t be afraid to highlight the work and money you’ve put in. 

Obviously, all of these improvements add value to your home, and this could make a major difference in the final outcome of your home appraisal. 

 

Preparing for Your Home Appraisal

In an ideal world, a home appraiser would only focus on what your home looks like. They wouldn’t let personal or external factors influence the value they place on your home. But in reality, it’s these factors that can have an impact on your final appraisal value. 

With this in mind, here’s how you can assist with the appraisal process: 

• Leave the appraiser to get on with their job — there’s no need to distract them with chatter or follow them around your home
• Avoid bombarding the appraiser with too much information or too many questions 
• Make sure you’re 100 percent open to the appraiser’s questions and be as honest and detailed as possible with your answers 
• Ensure that you have all necessary paperwork available on the day of the appraisal
• Be prepared to highlight all of the improvements you’ve done on your home, but make sure can answer their questions on ”why”, too

It’s also wise to do your homework on what other homes in your neighborhood sell for. You can find this information on a city assessor or real estate aggregation website.

This is a good way to prepare yourself for what your home valuation could be. By finding a listing that closely matches your home, you can compare features, take notes, and prepare yourself properly for the valuation day. 

Broaden Your Real Estate Knowledge Today 

Ultimately, your home appraisal value comes down to the amount of effort you put into preparing your home. Sometimes, it might also hinge on your local housing market, the overall real estate market, or the type of appraiser you get. 

Sure, some of these factors you cannot control, but the rest you can and should! 

If you’re looking to improve your knowledge of the real estate market and the home valuation process, check out the rest of this site for more.