Something which not enough people pay attention to when selling their home is that small details can have a big impact on how high their home is valued. I sold my house at the beginning of this year and having learned from the past, I decided to enlist a team to have my home appraised, prior to listing it on the market. I used the guys at NoVaStar Appraisals who carried out the job with speed, precision and professionalism and I would thoroughly recommend them. Whilst the guys were inspecting the property they were kind enough to speak with me for a few moments about what people can do to maximize the value of their home, and to make life a bit easier for the appraisers, here is what they shared.
Clean and Tidy
The appraisers began by telling me that many homes that they go into will be in a mess and it makes their job very difficult indeed. During an inspection the appraisers want to be able to inspect each detail of the property and its features, which means that getting from room to room and into other areas of the home should be made as simple as possible. if you fail to tidy up prior to the team arriving, you could very well be losing money on your valuation. This is not because a messy home is worth less, but because the inspector cannot see all that they need to.
Making Improvements
First of all if you have made improvements on your property during your time there then you shod let the appraisers know about this, and provide supporting information such as an invoice, which can validate the work that has been done. Something else which is worth thinking about too, is whether or not you should do some further work on the home in order to boost value. For example installing a new kitchen may cost $12,000 but it could potentially put a higher value than that on your home, as well as making the property more attractive to would-be buyers. Making any room in your home more chic can up your value.
Repairs
Simple $500 repair in the home which needs to be done, could potentially see more than that value removed from the property’s overall value because the appraisers will use standard industry prices. You may find however that you have a great contact who can fix repairs in the home, or perhaps you could do it yourself, which would be cheaper and easier. Take a day to look in detail around the home, and make a list of any repairs which need to be done. Once you have made this list, be sure that you fix any of these issues before the team come in to appraise it. With just a couple of days work you can greatly increase the overall value of your home.
Remember that the key here is to maximize your home’s value, follow these steps and you will be able to do just that.
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