Home Appraisal –  Prepare Your Home for an Appraisal

Getting your home ready for a professional appraisal doesn’t need to be a time-consuming or stressful process. With a few simple upgrades and changes to your home, you should be able to boost its value and ensure that you receive a fair offer from potential buyers or are able to refinance your home without encountering any roadblocks.

Start With a Deep Clean

If you plan on selling your home in the near future or simply want to ensure that it is properly assessed, then you need to spend a little bit of time tidying up. While clutter won’t necessarily have a huge impact on the value of your home, those messes could affect the appraiser’s first impression. At the very least, you should try to remove clutter and clean up all of the rooms. For better results, consider going the extra mile by dusting the nooks and crannies of your home and cleaning any smudges on doors or walls.

Work on Curb Appeal

An appraiser’s first impression could potentially have a big impact on the value of your home, and that is just one of the many reasons why curb appeal is so important. Spending a few days working on your home’s curb appeal is going to improve your chances of a fair appraisal and potentially save you thousands of dollars. At the very least, homeowners should tidy their yards and entryways in the weeks leading up to an appraisal. But to make an even better impression, consider having your siding power washed or painted and the windows cleaned. This can go a long way toward a positive evaluation of your home.

Maintain the Primary Mechanical Systems

Upgrading your home’s exterior and cleaning up clutter are both great starts, but you need to be absolutely sure that your home’s primary mechanical systems are working as well. Issues with your plumbing or electrical system will most likely drop your home’s value by a substantial amount of money. If you have recently told yourself that it is time to ‘sell my house‘ for a profit, then you will most likely want to hire contractors who can double-check your pipes, electrical wiring, HVAC system, and sewage lines. If you have an old furnace, AC unit, or water heater, it might be beneficial to have it replaced.

Finish With a Few Cosmetic Upgrades

The final step in the process is adding a few simple cosmetic upgrades to your home. Putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls is a simple and relatively inexpensive project that could make your home much more appealing. You also have the option of upgrading all of the hardware throughout the home so that it is clean, modern, and uniform.

Once you have taken all of these steps, you need to be sure that you work with a trustworthy appraisal company. Spending a little extra money to ensure that you hire an experienced appraiser could have quite an impact on your home’s value.

Courtesies: