5 Home Appraisal Tips For Sellers

By Mark Spain Real Estate

If you’ve sold a home to a refinancing buyer before, you’re probably familiar with the home appraisal process. Required by mortgage lenders to ensure their loan matches a home’s fair market value, home appraisals ensure that you, the seller, act with integrity and honesty when pricing your listing. 

At Mark Spain Real Estate, we know how important it is to ace your home appraisal and meet buyers’ expectations. That’s why we have a team of expert listing agents ready to prepare you for this critical step! With decades of valuable industry experience, our team will ensure your sale price aligns with your home’s true market value before your appraiser visits. Below, we’ve compiled a few tips on how to prepare for your home appraisal. 

5 Home Appraisal Tips For Sellers

Do Your Own Assessment

Well before a licensed home appraiser walks through your door, you should conduct your own property assessment. Whether on your own or with your real estate agent, you should perform a thorough walkthrough of your property to avoid any unforeseen surprises in your home appraisal. 

We recommend double-checking your health and safety features like smoke detectors, fireplaces, and security and HVAC systems. On top of that, you should also check for any structural defects like loose floorboards, roof leaks, or damaged gutters. All of these components can significantly affect your home’s assessed value. If not addressed before your home appraisal, these defects could cause you to lower your sale price. 

Make Small Upgrades

After your inspection, make note of any minor upgrades you can complete before the appraiser comes. Luckily, you won’t need to make any significant repairs unless requested by the buyer after your home inspection. However, small touches and upgrades are encouraged to optimize your home aesthetic. These could include tightening door handles or knobs, repainting over paint scuffs, patching holes in the wall, etc. You don’t have to go overboard, but you should still invest some time and thought into minor home improvements to showcase how you maintain and care for your property. 

Deep Clean and Declutter 

Your home appraiser will not be docking you on cleanliness. However, decluttering and deep cleaning might earn you some brownie points. While your home’s cleanliness won’t affect its assessed market value, it will affect your appraiser’s impression of the property. It won’t hurt to do some tidying up for your home appraisal, from polishing countertops to putting clutter in storage. You might also spruce up design elements like curtains or artwork to compliment your home’s clean state. 

Provide An Offer List

If your home received multiple offers, you can use these for leverage. Getting several bids on a home shows that your home is well worth its price. That said, it won’t hurt to mention these bids to your home appraiser as evidence of your home’s current market value. Though it will not come into play during their assessment, an offer list could sway an appraiser’s initial impression of your home and its value. 

Come Prepared with Paperwork

One way to present yourself as a thoughtful homeowner and make your appraiser’s job easier is to come prepared with all your essential paperwork. Upon arrival, most appraisers will ask for important documents upfront, either through you or the buyer’s lender. These documents should include critical details about your home, like square footage, lot size, nearby home value, recent upgrades, etc. Before handing them off, you’ll want to ensure these documents are organized and accurate. After all, it’s never a good look to come ill-prepared and unaware of your own home’s characteristics and conditions. 

Sell a Home with Mark Spain Real Estate

Do you need help preparing for your home appraisal? The industry professionals at Mark Spain Real Estate have got you covered! Delivering unparalleled customer satisfaction, our team of experienced listing consultants promises a smooth and stress-free selling process with no unforeseen home appraisal hiccups!

If you want to sell a home fast, check out our Guaranteed Offer Program! Our guaranteed offer participants receive the most competitive all-cash offers in the industry and close in as little as 21 days. Contact our agents today to learn more about our Guaranteed Offer Program and sell your home, hassle-free!

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