How to Get the Most Out of Your Appraisal

There is a great demand for appraisers to set a fair market value for homes. Whether you are trying to sell or just want to refinance your home, the value set by the appraiser is a big deal. It may mean staying in the same home versus upgrading or it may mean that you have to wait a little longer to do a major remodel. This demand means that appraisers are being more conservative in the values that they assign a home. This can be good news for the ethics that our real estate market is based on, but bad news for homeowners. Here are a few tips to get top dollar on your appraisal.

Tidy Up

I will be the first to judge someone by the appearance of their home. To me a home should be one of your most valuable possessions and therefore well taken care of. And believe me, appraisers feel the same way. After all homes are their business and they see plenty! When you know that you are getting your home appraised, take a few days to really clean your house. Do more than just surface clean. Here are my top suggestions:

Make sure that your closets and cupboards are straight to give the feel of a larger home.

Empty all your trash cans before the night before the appraisal to make sure that your home smells clean. Plus have a candle burning.

Vacuum your carpets and rugs, this will help your home look clean and give your carpet a newer appearance.

Make sure that your bathrooms are nice and clean.

Wash your windows to help your home feel brighter.

Remove all clutter from every room. Even if you have to shove things in drawers, a clutter free home feels bigger and newer. Plus the appraiser will not go through your drawers. Also make sure your laundry room is clean, throw any clothes that will not fit nicely in the hamper in the washer or dryer to make the room look clean.

Finish Up

Any unfinished projects you may have can be a bad sign for appraisers. This gives them the idea that your home is not all that it can be. Make sure you hang that closet rod, tighten the hinges, fix the drawer that is falling out, and do whatever finishing touches you may have on each room of the house.

This also applies to your yard, if it is summer time, mow the grass and weed the flower beds the day before the appraisal. If it is winter time, make sure that your walkways are clear and that there is not any debris that has blown into your yard. Always have a clean welcome mat at your door, it helps your home to feel inviting to the appraiser.

Stage

Staging your home might sound silly for an appraisal, but it really can help. Appraisers are looking for what someone would be willing to pay for your home, and if you create a home that looks like it might be appealing to many people, your value will go up.

Staging is actually really simple; it is really just making each room appealing to as many people as possible. This may mean getting rid of Grandma's trunk because it makes the room too crowded, but talk to your neighbors and friends to see if they can store it for a few days, or look into getting a storage unit for one month. If you time it right, you may be able to have a killer yard sale from the unit before the month is up (you might just realize how many of the things that clutter up your life and home that really are bearable to live without).

Make each room as open, clean, and clutter free as possible. Moving furniture around can give the rooms a brand new feel, and it gives you an excuse to play home decorator for a day. For more home staging tips read my article on home staging.