Preparing for an Appraisal
You might be wondering what you need to do in order to be prepared for an appraiser to come to your house. The truth is: you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. However, if you want your house to shine and have a higher possibility for the highest value possible, then there are a few things you might want to consider doing to prep your home for a professional valuation.
CLEAN AND DECLUTTER
The number one thing you can do that will help your home shine during an appraisal is to have it cleaned and decluttered. A clean or unclean home affects the condition rating of the home. Consider the following:
+ Trim bushes & mow the lawn.
+ Lay fresh mulch in the flower beds.
+ Pressure-wash the driveway, curb, porches, & patios.
+ Remove stains & marks from flooring and walls.
+ Vacuum & shampoo your carpet/rugs.
+ Mop floors.
+ Do a quick wipe down of mirrors & windows.
+ Clear countertop surfaces of excessive clutter & wipe down.
+ Make sure walkways & doorways are clear & easy to access.
+ Be sure that the appraiser has easy access to house components such as the water heater.
Use these tips as a helpful guide, but if you can’t get to all of them, don’t worry about it!
MAKE MINOR REPAIRS
If you’ve been putting off any simple repairs or maintenance, now is the time to do it before you have your home appraised. First, ensure that all of your major house components like the HVAC system, electrical, plumbing, water heater, etc, are all in good operating condition. Secondly, tackle the small things. Have your HVAC serviced if it hasn’t been in a while, patch and paint any holes in the walls, repair rotted wood, etc. Something to remember is that an appraiser is going to care less about the age of the home and more about the current condition and how functional it is presently.
DOCUMENT HOME UPDATES, REPAIRS, AND RENOVATIONS
If you’ve spent the time and money to make repairs and updates and/or completely renovate your home, please please document all of it! You will not regret documenting everything that you’ve done. Save your receipts, write down the things you’ve had done when you have them done, and take before and after photos. Now that it’s time for your home appraisal, compile all of these things together to have on hand for your appraiser when they walk through the front door. And do let your appraiser know that you have left these items out for them to take a look at. Your appraiser should appreciate your efforts and it will be extraordinarily helpful to them to know what’s been done and what hasn’t when coming up with their professional opinion of value.
All in all, do what you can and don’t sweat it if you can’t get to everything! At the very least, verbally tell your appraiser what updates you’ve made and trust that the appraiser knows what they are doing.
