Last week I discussed on my blog and television segment how to better understand and navigate the appraisal process. Over the course of the next few weeks I’ll post a series of tips on what you can do as a Wake County home buyer to further help your chances in coming out of the process with a favorable result.
Remember, the goal of an appraisal isn’t to truly determine the value of your home. It’s to help the bank determine if the home is worth the total loan amount requested by you. Having that basic foundation of understanding is what we’re going to build on to help give you an edge in this process.
Staging your home will go a long way in helping to boost the appraisal figures.
An Appraisal Is An Opinion
An appraisal is an individual’s opinion of value. You could have 10 appraisers conduct an appraisal on the same property and you will find all of their opinions will vary to a degree. Square footage may vary. Comps used could vary. Adjustments for differences between homes may vary. The commentary on each comp may also vary.
Some of the variances can be attributed to differences in things such as the comps that were used. Because appraisers aren’t robots, there is also a possibility of human error in the appraisal. A simple typo on a figure or an incorrect listing of how many bedrooms or bathrooms are present (for example) can dramatically affect the figure the appraiser arrives at.
Show Up and Show Off
A key point to keep in mind is that because an appraisal is an opinion, the more positive an appraiser feels about the property, the higher the value will be. Like I said before, remember that they’re human. This is actually an advantage because it means they can be swayed by their senses.
You can help your value by making sure on appraisal day you have a clean, neat home that is well-staged to maximize emotional appeal. Turn the lights on, burn a scented candle, and do all the things you did to capture the buyer’s heart. This is important because you still have one more heart to win over: the appraiser.
It may seem trivial, but, I assure you it is not. If your home isn’t presentable when the appraiser arrives, it may have a very detrimental effect on how they “feel” about the value of it.
Don’t Go It Alone
The home buying process can be quite a task if you try to navigate the seas alone or with an individual agent. Here at Linda Craft & Team, we have years of knowledge and experience in the Greater Raleigh real estate market and we are ready to partner with you.
For more information about the appraisal process please feel free to reach out to us. If you’re still searching for your new home, take a moment to browse through the thousands of listings we have for the greater Triangle area and once your new home leaps out at you, we’ll be here to introduce the two of you.
Have a great day!
Linda