I sold my home at the beginning of this year and something that I learned from the every first time that I sold a property, was to ensure that I had it appraised first. I chose the guys at NoVaStar Appraisals after a recommendation from a friend, and I must say that they did everything that I wanted them to, with a smile, great communication and the utmost professionalism. After this experience I wanted to share with you guys what you can and should expect from an appraisal, regardless of whether you are buying a property or selling a property.

Inspection

The first step will be for a member of the appraisal team to come out and inspect your property. This inspection could last an up to a couple of hours, perhaps more for bigger properties. This inspection will be very thorough and the appraiser will look at the features of the home, the state of any repairs which need to be made, as well as the potential for growth inside the home. Prior to your appraiser coming, it makes a lot of sense to get around the home and give it a clean, to ensure that you make life as easy as possible for the inspector.

Market Studies

The state of your current property is not the only determining factor in how much it is worth, and the appraiser will also need to study the current market in your region, as well as looking at similar homes in the area, and how much they may have been sold for. Once the inspection is done the appraiser will go back to the office to crunch the numbers and will then deliver your report with the overall value of the property.

The Report

The report which receive once the appraisal has been carried out, will contain vital information on what the factors were in deciding upon the overall value. There are a couple of reasons why this report is so detailed, the first is so that you can see the science behind how the company arrived at the final figure, and the second reason is so that you can address some repairs which may have brought the value of the home down. The cost of a problem in the home is often higher when it is deduced from the value, than when you actually repair it, for example a plumbing issue may cost $500 to repair, but if it isn’t fixed it may wipe $1,000 off the property value.

Next Steps

If there are repairs which can be easily carried out then you should look to complete them upon receiving the report. If you aren’t happy with the value that the property has been given then you can always seek out a second opinion from another company, but this will of course cost you more money for the service. Assuming everything is fine with the valuation, it is time to go ahead and buy or sell that property!