Once you accept an offer for your Sacramento area or El Dorado Hills home, we move into the next stage of your sales process: appraisals and inspections. In both cases, there are unknowns that can cause stress as we await reports. Below we detail things you and we can do together to make sure your appraisal comes in as high as possible. As your agent, we also walk you through this as an integral part of our service.
Selling Your El Dorado Hills Home? Make Sure It Appraises For Maximum Value!
There are two phases of the home selling process that throw most homeowners – and real estate agents – for a loop: The home inspection and the appraisal. Both can have a major impact on the home’s market value, the time it takes to close the sale, and, how much money the homeowner nets from the sale.
Repairs suggested on the home inspection report can be negotiated between the buyer and seller.
While both can break the sale, the appraised value isn’t something you can negotiate. This is why it’s so important to work with a real estate agent to determine the current market value of your home rather than base sales price on how much you owe, how much you paid, or how much you need to net. You need to do everything you can to ensure that the appraiser agrees with sale value.
What Influences Value To An Appraiser?
Many real estate consumers don’t fully understand the appraiser’s role in the home sale process. For instance, although the buyer pays for the appraisal, the appraisal belongs to the lender, not the buyer.
By law, however, a copy of the appraisal must be given to you if you request it in writing, according to the Federal Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
Residential appraisal professionals take a multi-pronged approach to determining a home’s value none of which concern the homeowner’s financial interests. Items considered, over which a homeowner has no control, include local and neighborhood housing market trends, which are impacted by economic, social and other forces. Supply and demand is an example of this.
In other words, the current real estate market will be reflected in your appraisal.
The appraiser will look at your home’s characteristics (size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, finishes, other attributes, and condition), and recent sales comparative properties (comps) to arrive at the home’s appraised value.
There’s Value In A Well-Maintained, Clean Home
If you’ve maintained your El Dorado Hills home over the years, it may sail through the home inspection. A well-maintained home will also impress the appraiser just as it does a buyer. Making small repairs, revving up the home’s curb appeal and meticulously cleaning the home will help you in both instances.
While some appraisers say that clean properties shouldn’t result in higher values, presenting your home in tis best light can only help.
The home’s condition, different from its cleanliness, will have a direct bearing on its appraised value. This known as the Condition and Quality rating in the appraisal industry. The condition rating can range from C1 (for new homes) to C6 – for homes with severe deferred maintenance issues and defects that may impact the home’s habitability.
During this phase of the evaluation, the appraiser will also consider all the improvements you’ve made to the property.
Supply The Appraiser With Accurate Data
Don’t assume that the appraiser will notice the upgrades you’ve made to the home. A good realtor will make a list of them, the dates they were performed and by whom, and provide this list to the appraisor when they arrive at the home.
It’s best to get specific in all of your explanations. Rather than “Bathroom remodel,” be detailed: “Bathroom remodel: new tub; travertine tile work; cherrywood cabinetry; Kohler sink, faucet, etc. …/Installed 2009/$15,000 cost.
Here is a handy information sheet you can download, fill out with your real estate agent and offer up to the appraiser when he or she visits the home.
Don’t assume the appraiser is familiar with your neighborhood
As a result of the Dodd-Frank reforms, appraisers are typically assigned jobs by an Appraisal Management Company, or AMC for short. And, these jobs are assigned essentially at random.
The appraiser may have little to no knowledge of your neighborhood.
Again, a good realtor will make a neighborhood description (quick and to the point) part of the data you supply to the appraiser. We suggest a bulleted list to make it easier for the appraiser to read quickly.
You should tell the appraiser what you appreciate about the neighborhood, about your HOA (and fees you pay), anything important about its location within the town or city, anything in particular that makes your neighborhood among the “in-demand” areas of town and any information you have on pending projects that will have a positive impact on your area’s home values.
In El Dorado Hills, mention the quality of the school district, it can positively impact home the values in the neighborhood.
Other items to point out to the appraiser include:
- If your lot is more desirable than others nearby, include a copy of the property survey.
- Home features that the appraiser may not notice, such as energy efficiency, solar power, etc.
- Any information you may have on why a nearby home sold for less than it should have, such as a divorce, a sale to a member of the homeowner’s family, or the distressed condition of the home.
There may not be anything you can do to change the economic forces that influence your home’s value in the eye of the appraiser, but taking care of the items that are within your control will help a great deal. Doing these things can help ease the stress the appraisal process inevitably brings.
Questions about your homes market value or the appraisal process? Let’s talk!
