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You and your buyer have agreed on a purchase price for your home. All the bank’s paperwork is ready. All they are waiting for is the appraisal to be finished.

Contract of Sale

There is an old adage in real estate; a home is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. As the home appraiser begins the process of determining the homes appraised value, the purchase agreement (also known as the sales contract) is used to establish the home’s worth. A home’s worth is established when someone (a buyer) agrees to pay you (the seller) a set dollar amount to purchase your home.

Market Value

Anytime a house is sold a record of the transaction is recorded at the county courthouse. Before an appraiser assigns a value to the property, he or she will examine similar homes that have sold in the past few months. Usually the bank will only accept homes in similar areas within approximately 15 miles of the home which have sold within the previous 6 month period. The appraiser will ultimately choose comparable homes that are much closer in both distance and time since sale. A comparable that sold last week with in 1 mile of the home will carry more weight than a house 14 miles away that sold 5 months ago.

Home appraisers will also look at the features of the house when determining its appraised value. Things like square footage of the living space, condition of the house, age of the house, size of the lot, and the level of craftsmanship of the house all go into determining what makes a good comparable property. Generally, the home appraiser will use three comparable properties to help determine the appraised value of the house.

In Closing

When preparing for your appraisal, there are a few things that you can do to help establish value. Show that the home has been well cared for by having the interior and exterior of home clean and free of clutter, have the grass mowed and shrubbery trimmed, and be available to answer questions and to discuss any repairs and or renovations with the appraiser.

Hubert Miles is the founder of Waterfront Houses USA, an internet advertising service that provides Coastal Properties and Coastal Property For Sale in the US and the Bahamas.

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