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Appraisers Serving ALL 67 Florida counties including: Orange, Seminole, Lake, Volusia, Hillsborough, Sumter, Flagler, Osceola, & Polk Counties |
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Appraisers Serving ALL 67 Florida counties including: Orange, Seminole, Lake, Volusia, Hillsborough, Sumter, Flagler, Osceola, & Polk Counties |
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"10 Tips for Making the Appraisal Run Smoothly" © 2009 Florida-Appraiser.com All rights reserved. As an appraiser with over two decades of observing properties and their inhabitants, I've found many homeowners were nervous about the process. Some uneasiness I attribute to having a complete stranger walking around their, property, peering into bedrooms, bathrooms, taking pictures and opening every door. Recently a good friend of mine came to me and asked: How can I prepare my house for an upcoming appraisal? It's my experience the biggest reason for homeowner jitters was that they didn't know what an appraisal entailed and thus had no idea how to prepare for it. These tips will assist in "staging" their property for showing. Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Take a good look at your house. Look at nearby houses, too, and see how yours compares. 1) Be There: Make the appointment. Appraisers are always on the go so it is important that you are available during the time for which you scheduled the appraisal. The appraiser is only human. From an appraiser standpoint a missed appointment is irksome and may adversely affect their overall attitude. It will usually delay the work and you may incur additional costs. 2) Curb Appeal: First impressions are important. Play up the visual by improving curb appeal. Prior to the appraisal do a walk around the exterior of the dwelling. Appraiser may take photographs of the front rear and sides of the house. 
3) Remove Clutter: Housekeeping counts. Make sure that your home is clean and presentable for the appraisal inspection.
Light up the house but keep blinds partially closed that otherwise show undesirable outdoor scenery such as a dilapidated fence or a nearby structure that obstructs views. Otherwise, open all the window coverings to let light in. Don't expect the appraiser to remove their shoes. Keep in mind while the appraiser may be able to ignore homes that are untidy, your lender may not. Underwriters and appraisal reviewers view both interior and exterior images to determine the condition of your property. Again, hide everything. Don't leave opened mail on the kitchen counter or dishes piled in the sink. Beneath the sink is critical, too. You should determine if there are any tell-tale signs of water leaks that may hurt your resulting value. Stage your house. 4) Easy Access: An appraiser must inspect the exterior and every room inside your home or the appraisal will be incomplete and thus he or she will have to make a second trip out to the house. If you have a fenced yard, open the gates for access. Make sure doors open properly. If one of the rooms is usually locked, it is important that the occupant of that room is able to unlock it for the short inspection period. This usually will only take a few minutes. (Pet owners love their animals. Remove evidence of pets. You may need to make arrangements for your dog to be elsewhere. At minimum be courteous and contain your pet. Keep dogs penned, or in the care of a family member or neighbor. A noisy dog can be a distraction. If a dog is nervous it may have accidents. Dog owners need to do a quick scan to eliminate Mr. Snuffle's landmines in the side or backyard). 5) Renovations: Make sure that any work that is being done to the property (such as adding rooms, wiring, plumbing, etc.) is complete by the time of the appraisal inspection. This will undoubtedly delay the appraisal and may even cause the value of your home to drop. Let your appraiser know of any work in progress while setting the appointment. 6) Minor Repairs: It would be a good idea to make some minor repairs prior to the appraisal inspection. For pennies, replace any missing electrical outlet covers or light switch faceplates. Seemingly small things such as a rusty faucet or broken light fixture may be hard for some appraisers to ignore. Make sure all the hot and cold water knobs are easy to turn and that the faucets do not leak. If they do, replace the washers. It sounds like hard work, but it's pretty easy. On ceilings and walls if a water stain is left after something you have already repaired, do the cosmetic work necessary to improve the desirability of your home. That means painting. Don't let mold show (if any). Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks if necessary. Replace any burned out bulbs. A lack of adequate lighting may even hinder your appraiser's ability to take interior pictures of your home. These types of repairs are normally easy and will not cause a financial burden and instead will help form a good impression of your property. Lastly, be careful not to belittle any improvements that you have done to the property. 7) List of Improvements: Help make the appraisers' job easy. Sit down well in advance and brainstorm all the improvements you've made to the property and write them down. Be sure to include everything. You'll have the list of improvements available when they show up. Don't leave out anything. Let your appraiser look through all the improvements and he or she will allocate the proper value to those improvements. 8) Documentation: Locate and make a copy of the property survey if you have one. Have any needed documents ready when your appraiser shows up. If you have made any additions or improvements to your home that may have necessitated city permits, be sure to have those documents on hand. If you pay Homeowner's Association (HOA), have a statement ready. When making the appointment, ask the appraiser what documents you need to have ready, if any. Often times no documents are needed for the appraisal. 9) Scent and odors: If you have an odor, find the source and deal with it. Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no. Open the windows and air out the house. Be sure to allow several hours before the appointment time. Close them soon enough for the air or heat to set a comfortable temperature prior to the scheduled appointment time. At the time of inspection, regardless of weather, if there is too much noise outside, close the windows. Many people are allergic to certain scents and deodorizers, so don't spray the air or plug-in air fresheners. Don't burn candles or spray perfume in the bedroom for the same reason. You may elect to use ozone spray or boxes of baking soda. Drape fabrics over worn chair arms. Leave doors slightly ajar. 10) Check the Temperature: If it's warm outside, turn on the air conditioning. It's better to heat or cool the house a degree or two warmer / colder than usual and then set the temperature at normal. This lets the appraiser know the system is in good working order and prevents the heat or A/C from kicking on when the appraiser is present, because some HVAC systems are loud. It may be time to go to work. Present as much open space as possible. Staging improves appearance, reduces homeowner anxiety, helps the appraisal run more smoothly and projects your property in a more positive light. Thank you for taking the time to read this article titled "10 Tips for Making the Appraisal Run Smoothly" © 2009 Florida-Appraiser.com All rights reserved. |
© 2009 Florida-Appraiser.com All rights reserved.
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