Best way to Increase your Appraisal?

[BabbyO]

Any recommendations for simple things you can do to increase your appraisal for a mortgage re-fi?

[twowhat?]

When we were getting ours appraised to complete a sale, our agent told us to be sure our house looked as it did when we were showing it. Everything cleaned, decluttered, picked up, etc, all window coverings open, all lights on, yard neat and trimmed, etc.

Then she met the appraiser at the house with donuts to let him in ;)

[SnuggleBuggles]

I am getting ready to do this too. I had dh finish all those little unfinished projects we have been meaning to do.

[mommylamb]

I think it always make sense to make sure the house looks its best, because impressions matter, but for a good appraiser, that shouldn't really make a difference.

We just had ours appraised earlier this week. I did point out all the things we've done in the house, though most of them were minor and I'm not sure they made any difference at all. The big things they look for are upgraded kitchens and baths. I mentioned that we had put in a new HVAC/furnace, overhead lighting, etc, but again, I'm not sure it mattered.

The thing that matters most is what comps they happen to pull, and you just have no control over it.

Good luck!

[BabbyO]

I think it always make sense to make sure the house looks its best, because impressions matter, but for a good appraiser, that shouldn't really make a difference.

We just had ours appraised earlier this week. I did point out all the things we've done in the house, though most of them were minor and I'm not sure they made any difference at all. The big things they look for are upgraded kitchens and baths. I mentioned that we had put in a new HVAC/furnace, overhead lighting, etc, but again, I'm not sure it mattered.

The thing that matters most is what comps they happen to pull, and you just have no control over it.

Good luck!

Well, I assumed we needed to clean up, just wondering, though. Last year I made DH re-install a toilet so we could say we had 2.5 bathrooms. It didn't really seem to matter to the appraiser according to DH. But maybe it was because he was preoccupied with peeling paint on the outside of the house.

What are "comps?"

[BeachBum]

The thing that matters most is what comps they happen to pull, and you just have no control over it.

Good luck!

YUP. That was our experience entirely.

[staceyeileen]

What are "comps?"

They take COMParable houses in your area and see what they've sold for recently. When we bought our house, this was actually the ONLY thing they cared about.

[elbenn]

They take COMParable houses in your area and see what they've sold for recently. When we bought our house, this was actually the ONLY thing they cared about.

When we did an appraisal for a refinancing, it was the only thing they cared about also.

[div_0305]

I'll add that it's mysterious how they choose comps because we don't know what upgrades and quality of the fixtures that the inside of the comps have. Even if you see "renovated kitchen/bathrooms" does that mean nice appliances, granite counters, solid wood cabinets, expensive fixtures, etc.

I kept receipts and a tally of all the things we spent major $$ when we bought our home and needed an appraisal. The appraiser took note of all these things. I was mystified though by the comps because I could not gauge what those homes had inside.

[larig]

our last appraiser noted that we had put in new doors and trim, and a deck. Those seemed to be positives.

[elbenn]

I'll add that it's mysterious how they choose comps because we don't know what upgrades and quality of the fixtures that the inside of the comps have. Even if you see "renovated kitchen/bathrooms" does that mean nice appliances, granite counters, solid wood cabinets, expensive fixtures, etc.

I kept receipts and a tally of all the things we spent major $$ when we bought our home and needed an appraisal. The appraiser took note of all these things. I was mystified though by the comps because I could not gauge what those homes had inside.

Our appraisal came in way low. They seemed to only look for houses with similar square footages and number of bedrooms and bathrooms in our neighborhood, regardless of the quality of the house or the lot. Their process is baffling.

[Megano]

We made sure the appraiser knew what we needed the home to be valued at. He came back with exactly that number :). Good luck!

[div_0305]

Our appraisal came in way low. They seemed to only look for houses with similar square footages and number of bedrooms and bathrooms in our neighborhood, regardless of the quality of the house or the lot. Their process is baffling.

Baffling no doubt! Ours actually asked us what our refinance request was for, and sure enough, he appraised at EXACTLY what we needed. Unless they have actually walked through the comps, they should NOT be allowed to do their appraisals. That would make them actually have to earn the $350 or so that they charge for sure!

[janine]

Comes down to comps and any upgrades you may've done that will differentiate you from the comps. Cleaning your house leaves a nice impression but won't and shouldn't change much.

I cleaned/decluttered one time and the second time left it messy and the appraisal came in a the same amount. I had to laugh at the pictures in the appraisal with bottles and pump gear everywhere in the kitchen (and potties in the bathrooms).

Do your research (on comps) and then point what if any upgrades have been done.

[sariana]

Good advice so far. Also be aware of things about the "comps" that the appraiser might not know--near a noisy road/business? schools not as good? no parks nearby? lots of traffic?

We had an appraisal done earlier this month. Even though I told the appraiser exactly what number we needed, it came in $50,000 too low. According to our appraisals, our home has lost $258,000 in value since we bought it 5 years ago.:crying:

I filed an appeal, but I don't know the results yet. I gave many reasons why his comps were bad, and I provided my own comps with my analysis of each. We'll see what happens.

Any written info you can provide as to why your house is worth more than one might think is helpful. Larger lot than others in the area? Upgrades that might not be obvious? Better school? Mention all of it.

Good luck.

[khm]

They are supposed to be impartial to your tidiness. :)

In our area, they count bedrooms, bathrooms (each is worth $X) and basement finish (walkout and daylight are worth more). Fireplaces are each worth $X.

For the comps, they typically find a similar style (2 story, 1.5 story, ranch) and if possible, very near to your home and of a similar age.

The fact that one house has custom cabinetry vs. builder-grade really doesn't matter, fortunately or unfortunately depending on which side you are on! Hardwood vs. ratty carpet also doesn't matter.

They do have a bit of unofficial wiggle room for stuff like "backs to highway" or "shares a driveway", but these days they pretty much ignore that stuff and stick totally by the rooms and SF. They are under pressure and don't seem to do anything that isn't completely black and white.

In general, a tidy house does leave a good impression and cannot hurt, but likely will not give you a too huge of boost over a messier neighbor.

Do you have a county assessor's page? On ours, we can see where each and every dollar goes.

[ellies mom]

I have a real estate agent friend who pulls a bunch of good comps for the area and leaves them for the appraiser. He does this because the appraisers are not always familiar with the individual neighborhoods and don't always pull comps that are appropriate (ie school district lines, different builders, etc). He said it seems to work out for him.



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[khm]

I have a real estate agent friend who pulls a bunch of good comps for the area and leaves them for the appraiser. He does this because the appraisers are not always familiar with the individual neighborhoods and don't always pull comps that are appropriate (ie school district lines, different builders, etc). He said it seems to work out for him.



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Ohh, that's a good idea!

Are there any unfinished projects? Do finish them!

[sariana]

They are supposed to be impartial to your tidiness. :)

In our area, they count bedrooms, bathrooms (each is worth $X) and basement finish (walkout and daylight are worth more). Fireplaces are each worth $X.

For the comps, they typically find a similar style (2 story, 1.5 story, ranch) and if possible, very near to your home and of a similar age.

The fact that one house has custom cabinetry vs. builder-grade really doesn't matter, fortunately or unfortunately depending on which side you are on! Hardwood vs. ratty carpet also doesn't matter.

They do have a bit of unofficial wiggle room for stuff like "backs to highway" or "shares a driveway", but these days they pretty much ignore that stuff and stick totally by the rooms and SF. They are under pressure and don't seem to do anything that isn't completely black and white.

In general, a tidy house does leave a good impression and cannot hurt, but likely will not give you a too huge of boost over a messier neighbor.

Do you have a county assessor's page? On ours, we can see where each and every dollar goes.

Actually, our appraiser did consider "backs to traffic." Our home was "bumped" $10,000 because one of the comps backed to a road. Unfortunately, that house otherwise was junk, so it didn't really help. But it was considered.

Upgraded cabinets CAN make a difference, but countertop surface is more important, I think. And some of that will be regional.

Some things definitely are subjective (in a sense). Our home lost value compared to two of the comps because they had pools. IMO a pool is a huge negative; I won't even look at homes with pools. But that's not how the appraiser's program was set up. Our home "lost" $10,000 because we don't have a pool (even though our association has 4 pools and a lagoon/beach club).

[mommylamb]

It does suck that they don't know what the real condition is for any of the comps. For a long time, our value had been dragged down because a house across from us sold for a ridiculously low price, but it was in terrible condition (apparently there were big holes in the counter top and was just a total mess). It really dragged the property values down on our street. Enough time has passed and enough other places have sold, but our value at one point was probably $150K below what we bought for because of it. Thankfully, things have changed. It's really frustrating when stuff like that happens. Same goes for people who are trying to sell in an area where there are a lot of foreclosures or short sales.

[khm]

Some things definitely are subjective (in a sense). Our home lost value compared to two of the comps because they had pools. IMO a pool is a huge negative; I won't even look at homes with pools. But that's not how the appraiser's program was set up. Our home "lost" $10,000 because we don't have a pool (even though our association has 4 pools and a lagoon/beach club).

Yeah, in our area, it literally is a tick-box Excel chart kind of thing. Rooms, check = $x. Bathrooms, check = $x. Fireplaces, check = $x. Total sf, etc.

To distinguish things like countertop type, or really nice upgrades/remodels or traffic proximity they have to put that into a "Notes" section and justify their "manual" adjustments. Well, they are pretty leery to do that now-a-days, so they don't, and if they do it'll be very conservative in a cover-their-butt sense.

A lot of it really is just hoping (and possibly guiding them to) true comps.

[scrooks]

Our house was a disaster :bag the day of our recent appraisal (i had completely forgotten about it). Our appraisal came back higher than expected so i do not think the mess affected it.

I walked with our appraiser through the house. He specifically asked me to point out things we had upgraded (granite and hard wood in the kitchen, various light fixtures, new toilets etc). This procedure was very similar to our appraisal 2 years ago. I think our upgrades and the recent comps (we got lucky on the most recent sale down the street) helped increase our appraised value by $20k over 2 years and by almost $40k from our purchase price in 2005.

[JTsMom]

Ours only cared about the comps too. I thought at least our big projects- upgraded flooring, counters, appliances, etc. would matter, but he said it didn't matter at all, and that the only reason they do the walk is to make sure there isn't something crazy- like massive water damage or something.

[BabbyO]

Ugg...now I'm scared. There's a house right behind us that is ranch of similar age...the family has been gone for several months now and I think it may have finally sold in the last week or two. I'm guessing that they really lowered the selling price just to move it.

Also there are several other ranches in our area that have been on the market for quite a while. I LOVE my neighborhood, but our house is in the "old" section and there are 2 brand new neighborhoods on either side of us that were in the process of being built as the housing market turned. Much bigger, newer houses and they're being sold for little more than our house just so the developers don't have to carry the inventory. Ugg...

I just hope that we can get the same value we did at this time last year. We'll be ok if that is the case.

I'll have to try to look it up. Anyone know where you can look this sort of thing up.

[lowrioh]

Depending on where you live in the US, you can go to Redfin and search your zip code and then zoom in on your neighborhood. You can then check Recent Sales and I would also check Exclude Short Sales.
The sale price and the square footage should be there. You can also look up your own property and see what the recorded square footage is. Redfin is only active for parts of the US though.
I think that Zillow has something simillar.
Our home appraisal was Weds and I had my realtor run some of the comps in the area and I printed it out and left it for the appraiser. In our county there are huge price differences depending on the municipality you live in. A house 4 blocks away wouldn't be a true comp because it isn't in our town. We have a 60's split level in a town of 30's colonials so there is really only one true comp. The appraiser asked DH how much we were borrowing and what we thought the value of the house was.

Anyway, good luck! Hopefully yours comes in the right price.

[khm]

Does your county assessor have a website? Ours is fantastic and you can get all sorts of info and might help give you some ideas. Do you know a real estate agent? They would have insight into your area, it really is SUCH a local thing all our info might not match your info at all.

re: the recent sale, it may be too soon to count it. In our area at least, the sales price isn't officially public knowledge until it actually closes plus a few days to get that number into the system. The appraiser can call the real estate agents, I guess, but it isn't sold til its closed, ya know?

[mommylamb]

Just be aware that the zillow "zestimate" can be really, really off. We just had our house appraised earlier this week, and it appraised for $49K more than what zillow has it listed for. That's a huge difference. I don't think zillow is worth anything.

[BabbyO]

Does your county assessor have a website? Ours is fantastic and you can get all sorts of info and might help give you some ideas. Do you know a real estate agent? They would have insight into your area, it really is SUCH a local thing all our info might not match your info at all.

re: the recent sale, it may be too soon to count it. In our area at least, the sales price isn't officially public knowledge until it actually closes plus a few days to get that number into the system. The appraiser can call the real estate agents, I guess, but it isn't sold til its closed, ya know?

Our county assessor has an awesome website. I can find local tax bills, assessed value of the property and I was just looking this morning and they've added a "fair market value". I'm not sure what they used to generate the "fair market value" but if we end up with an appraisal that comes in at our fair market value, we'll be ok. Now, that value may have come from the appraisal we had last year (it is the exact amount of our old appraisal).

[dogmom]

After my assessment is highlight your assets. If you have a list of improvements you have done since moving in, type up a list and give it to them when they come in. Declutter the bathrooms and kitchens particularly, since those add values. I found the person that came to my house tried to get the best looking picture they could, so I just make sure the nicest angle on the kids bedrooms, etc., looks OK.

[lowrioh]

Just be aware that the zillow "zestimate" can be really, really off. We just had our house appraised earlier this week, and it appraised for $49K more than what zillow has it listed for. That's a huge difference. I don't think zillow is worth anything.

I totally agree. My house is valued at at least $50K less than it is worth. I meant that you can use Zillow to search for recent sales and then look at the price per square foot.
http://www.zillow.com/homes/recently_sold/Greenbelt-MD/house_type/4974_rid/3-_beds/2-_baths/12m_days/39.014545,-76.850874,38.995036,-76.918766_rect/14_zm/

They also have a comps button next to each sold property. You totally need to do your own sorting through the information but it should give you a starting point.
http://www.zillow.com/homes/comps/37568538_zpid/

ETA; This isn't my neighborhood....it's just one I know pretty well.

[twowhat?]

I think your best bet is to find an agent who can pull up sales prices of comps over the past year.