Pre-Listing Appraisal Services
If you’re working with a real estate agent to list your property, more than likely they’ll provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) that lists selected sales in your area as one of the first steps in determining what to set as the “Listing Price".This step is vital if you're going to maximize your profit and minimize the home’s time on the market.
But even if you're working with the most experienced real estate agent, it's probably in your best interest to have an "objective" third-party's opinion of value prior to signing a Listing Agreement. That’s where we come in. We can provide you with a pre-listing appraisal so both you and your agent have an accurate description of your home's features and a detailed analysis of the most recent and similar "comparable sales" or as they're commonly called, "Comps" that were selected using lender criteria -- to minimize surprises when the property is appraised for the buyer's loan. In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract buyers, a professional appraisal can:
- Be a very valuable negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer
- Impress buyer’s with written proof of your home’s condition inside and out
- Make yourself aware of problems and eliminate last-minute repair hassles that might delay a closing
- Decrease the chances of unknown problems that cause sales to fall through.
Many people are surprised when they find out that the market value of their home is different from what they thought, so investing in a professional appraisal arms both sellers and buyers with solid market data.
A professional appraisal helps sellers to price their homes correctly in order for it to sellmore quickly. An overpriced home will not attract buyers, which means no offers and no closing and that you have wasted valuable time, money, and efforts.
Improvements to add value
In addition to “how much?”, there may be other important questions to ask yourself before listing your home. Questions like ''Would it be better to paint the entire house before we sell it?”, ''Should I put in that third bathroom?'', ''Should I complete my kitchen remodel?'' Many things which we do to our houses have an effect on their value. Unfortunately, not all of them have an equal effect. Some updates and upgrades may improve the appeal of a home, but may not add nearly enough to the value to justify the expense.
We can step in and help make these decisions. Unlike a real estate agent, an appraiser has no vested interest in what amount the house sells for. Our appraisal fees are based on efforts to complete the report and not a percentage of the sales price. So a professional appraisal can often help homeowners make the best decisions on investing in their homes and setting a fair sales price.