Appraisal advice

[hurricanedrunk]

Been lurking for a bit and am finally ready to come out for some advice. We're in the process of refinancing and will need to get an appraisal. From the original purchase about 2 years ago we have around a $17,000 spread from the fair market value and assest value. If the appraisal comes in at the high end we'll be able to get rid of our PMI (jumps for joy). Any suggestions on things to do for a higher appraisal? I straight out asked our mortgage lender and she wasn't very helpful.

[bunch]

Have the house clean and in good condition. If there are any repairs needed, do them. Declutter. That's really all you can do. Good luck!

[pugs3602]

We just went through this too. We cleaned the house like crazy and pretty much got it ready as if we were having an open house. Don't forget the outside of the house too...it is the first impression. I also made a list of all the home improvements we've done and the approximate dates and gave it to our appraiser so it wouldn't be overlooked.

Our appraisal ended up coming in high, and when I looked at how it was calculated based on comparables, a lot of it had to do with the rating she gave the condition of our house (we have an old home, so it in really good condition compared to other houses of the same age). Also, we had made one small change to the home that wasn't in the tax records (it's hard to explain, but it basically created a utility room by adding a door), and that had a big effect on our appraisal too.

Good luck!

[simpsongal]

Ditto cleaning and the list - cleaning to a lesser extent. We had two appraisals within 3 weeks of each other. They came in $8,000 apart, so it's a bit subjective no matter what. The list definitely helped though. List the big expensive stuff first (e.g., bath remodel, new furnace, new roof, new paint throughout home).

Some refi companies will pay for your appraisal, so be sure to ask.

Gooc luck!

[Pom]

The reason your lender probably wasn't overly helpful, is that more than anything, your appraisal will be based on recent comps/sales in your area. Not much you can do to control that situation. I still agree with PP's to make sure the home is neat and in good repair.

[chessie]

Make sure appraiser comes into the home, some just do drive bys. List all repairs/renovs, clean the house, don't go crazy though. They are looking at structural more then anything to compare to the comps in the area.

[imojoebunny]

Unless your house is usually a disaster, I wouldn't do much different. With ours, they are mostly looking for number of rooms and square feet. Then things like systems, roof, insulation, appliances, overall condition, like newly painted or rewired. Dishes in the sink are not really a consideration, if the house stinks of cat pee, you cannot find the bed, ect. that would be.

The appraisals we have had all have a sort of scale for condition, average, above average, ect. The comps are all based on the number of rooms and square footage. You can't really change the condition by cleaning, since it is based on upgrades, like expensive appliances, better roof, windows, doors, ect.

[AAM2012]

Jan 10, 2013 10:05:55 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Unless your house is usually a disaster, I wouldn't do much different. With ours, they are mostly looking for number of rooms and square feet. Then things like systems, roof, insulation, appliances, overall condition, like newly painted or rewired. Dishes in the sink are not really a consideration, if the house stinks of cat pee, you cannot find the bed, ect. that would be.

The appraisals we have had all have a sort of scale for condition, average, above average, ect. The comps are all based on the number of rooms and square footage. You can't really change the condition by cleaning, since it is based on upgrades, like expensive appliances, better roof, windows, doors, ect.

This was our experience. The guy was in our house for less than a minute just to verify the place hadn't been stripped of appliances, sinks, etc.