The family has grown from 3 to 4, your vacation home no longer fits your needs, or a new job is taking you somewhere new—whatever the reason, it’s time to sell. As a buyer or a seller, there is an extensive checklist built into the buying and selling process. The Sunday River Real Estate team is here to guide you through this process.
With five full-time, year-round brokers, our team has experience and knowledge to best prepare you for the buying and selling process. Oftentimes, we are asked questions about the home appraisal. Is it really that important? Yes. It absolutely is.
What does an appraiser do?
As part of the loan approval process, the buyer’s lender will require an appraisal of your home to ensure that the agreed up sale price is a true market value that can be supported with recent market sales data.
The first step will be for the appraiser to schedule a time to inspect your home. During the inspection, the appraiser will focus on a few key elements: your home’s structure, the renovations and improvements, and the overall condition to name a few.
The structure of the home is key. Your appraiser’s nod of approval on a home’s foundation and roof will greatly impact your appraisal value. As the backbone of your home, your appraiser wants to know the home is structurally sound.
How can you prepare for your appraisal?
Over time, you will no doubt pour love and work (and money) into your home. Let the appraiser know the hard work you have put into your home. A new HVAC system? Stainless steel appliances? A recently renovated unfinished basement turned man cave? The appraiser will want to see these improvements! We suggest that you make a list of all the improvements/renovations done on the house to ensure nothing is missed in the appraisal process.
When it comes to preparing your home for the appraisal, you will want to have a neat and tidy home waiting for your appraiser. Your appraiser is determining the value of your home not solely on its functionality, but also its appearance. Clean the dishes, wipe the counters down, scrub away the paw marks on the glass sliding door – just don’t forget to clean!
Your real estate agent will also be working for you by communicating with the appraiser about your property and providing information on comparable home sales. It is also important for your agent to inform the appraiser of any nuances in the local market that are impacting property values—which he or she may not be aware of as well—by providing insight on the condition of pertinent comparable home sales or special circumstances which affect the sale price.
After the inspection, the appraiser will work on preparing an analysis by comparing your home to similar homes that have sold in the area, making monetary adjustments for differences in size, location, condition, features and other pertinent data. The appraiser then submits the report to the lender for final review.
The appraisal is just one more step involved with getting your home sold but it is a critical one if the buyer of your home is financing the purchase.
At the end of the day, your real estate agent is there to look out for your best interest, whether you are the buyer or the seller. Throughout the appraisal process, lean on your real estate agent for advice and tips. They are there to make the process go smoothly for all parties involved; the appraiser, the buyer and you!
