Orange County Real Estate Home Appraisal Guide
If you are selling your home you should get an appraisal before you decide on the selling price. A real estate agent’s market analysis will get you close to the right selling price, but a $3,000 to $5,000 variance is a lot of money. An upfront appraisal will protect your equity and be well worth the cost.Understanding what is involved in appraising a your home can greatly help in maximizing the appraised value. The steps below are in the sequence normally followed by an appraiser:1. He will research the property as to size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the year it was built, the lot size and square footage.2. The appraiser will gather data of recent sales in the neighborhood. The appraiser must locate at least 3 like homes that have sold in the neighborhood with in the last six months. The homes also need to be within one mile of the subject property. These homes are called the "Comparable Properties" or "Comps" for short.3. The appraiser will then perform field inspections. The inspections consist of two parts: a complete inspection of the subject property, and the exterior inspection of the comparable properties.During the property inspection he will be taking photos of the street scene, front of the home and rear of the home. The appraiser will make an interior inspection, noting any items that would detract from or add to the value of your home.The comparable property’s inspection is limited to the exterior. Features that cannot be seen from the street, the appraiser uses: reports from Multiple Listing Services (MLS), California Market Data Cooperative (CMDC), county public records, and appraisal files to help determine the condition.4. Upon completion of the field inspection, the appraiser must decide which comparable properties most resemble the subject property. Then he makes slight adjustments in value for differences. The appraiser must go through a reconciliation process with the comparable properties to come up with a final value of the subject property. This is the "Direct Sales Comparison Approach to Value", and accounts for nearly all of the considerations in determining value of a single-family property.It is important to remember that the appraiser will be taking photos of the street scene and the front and back of the home. The street scene gives the lenders some kind of idea as to the type of neighborhood in which the home is located. The photo of the front of the home gives the lender an idea of its condition and its curb appeal. Lastly, the photo of the back of the home and part of the rear yard is another indicator to the lender of the home’s care and maintenance.Over 90% of the time what you see in the condition of a home exterior will be repeated almost exactly inside the home. So one of the most important things you can do to improve the value or perceived value is to enhance the curb appeal of your home, and don’t forget to clean up the back yard.The appraiser will call in advance for an appointment to inspect your Orange County Real Estate. That is the time to supply any information about the home size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, pool, enclosed patio, etc. The more known about the property prior to inspection the better the appraiser can focus on researching the most similar comparable homes. Doing your homework will increase your chances of having a good appraisal.While your home is being inspected don’t follow the appraiser from room to room causing distraction. Instead, allow the inspection to go smoothly. In case the appraiser has any questions, be close by to answer them. The time to mention the things you think are important is either before or just after the inspection.The best thing you can do to increase the perceived value of your home is to get it ready before the appraisal. Clean it, put fresh paint where needed, and clear the clutter inside and out. You should also make any minor repairs needed and be sure to manicure the front and back yards!
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