Get Your Home's Value

Schedule the appraisal and gather up supporting documents that speak to your home’s value

Now it’s the time to schedule the appraiser to come out to the house and do what they do best.

While the cost of a full appraisal varies according to location, you can generally expect to pay about $300-$500 for these services.

Be sure to have documentation of all home improvements made to the property over the past 10-15 years on hand, including remodels, upgrades, and new additions.

Prepare the house to look its best for a special guest

If time allows, you’ll want to do some minor home improvements around the house before you get a home appraiser on the schedule. A little sweat equity and a couple of weekends can add big dollars to your home’s appraised value. So think about tackling the following items in preparation of your appraiser’s anticipated visit:
Take care of those minor repairs you’ve been putting off

Any broken items or fixtures, such as a leaking toilet, cracked floors, or missing door handles, should be first on the to-do list. These obvious issues can give the appraiser the idea that the house wasn’t kept in the best of shape, and should be taken care of right away

Cons of getting a seller’s appraisal:

-You’re on the hook for the out-of-pocket expense.
-You’ll be paying for the appraisal on your own, which can cost between $300-$500, unlike the typical appraisal commissioned by the buyer prior to sale.
-A home appraisal won’t typically be necessary to price the home correctly.
-Your real estate agent will help price your home as part of their service package using what’s called a comparative market analysis that takes into account similar recently sold properties in your area.
-Potential for error.
-An inaccurate appraisal could throw off your pricing strategy and delay the home sale.
-Buyers won’t always trust an appraisal obtained by the seller.
-It’s possible that the leverage an appraisal gives you during negotiations will be mitigated by a buyer’s distrust of valuation that comes from someone they didn’t hire.