Have you ever wondered who actually knows what your home is worth? Some of the services out there provide an estimate based on sales in your area or the age of your home. This doesn’t always provide an accurate number of your home’s value. Let’s say you have made some neat additions to your home, or updated the bathroom and kitchen, so why doesn’t your value on Zillow reflect this?
The expert in this field would be the appraiser. The main priority of their job is to provide you with an appraisal which will show you the value of your home based on all the details.
According to www.uphomes.com, the main 11 things appraisers look for when evaluating your homes worth are:
- The home’s general condition
- Location
- Age
- Exterior of the home
- Design/Layout
- Water Damage
- Size of the home
- Interior of the home
- Improvements made to the home
- Signs of infestation
- Safety features
Now that you know what all is included in an appraisal, you may be curious, why do I need one?
One of the main purposes of an appraisal comes from the need for a mortgage loan or refinance. For banks to make a loan to a customer, they need to know the value of the home. Typically, banks will only loan the amount that the home is said to be worth (by the appraiser). In instances where the seller is asking more than what the home is worth, the buyer may not be able to get a loan to cover it. Sometimes the appraisal comes back higher than the official offer. This is always great for a buyer because they do into it with equity.
In the case of a cash buyer, an appraisal is not necessary since they aren’t needing a loan, although having one would be advised so as to not pay more than what the home is worth.
This is why using a real estate agent is so valuable to both a seller and a buyer. As experts in the field we see appraisals done all of the time. This gives us a better understanding of the market and what a home is worth. In the case of a seller, this could make you more money, or help you sell it by pricing it appropriately. For a buyer, we want to make sure you don’t pay more than what is necessary.
Call me today if you want to know what your home might be worth to get an expert opinion, rather than an autogenerated one. Call me, Jill Bell, at 479.799.3023.
