Details To Help You Through Your Upcoming Home Appraisal

A home appraisal is a necessary part of several different avenues of buying, selling, or refinancing a property. An appraisal calculates the property's true value based on many different factors, so its accurate measure is used for lending and underwriting of your mortgage financing. Here are some details to help you understand the process with your upcoming appraisal and home purchase for a successful mortgage and closing process.

Hire a Professional Appraiser

As a buyer, seller, or owner wanting to refinance your home, you will need to hire a professional appraisal of the property. The appraiser should have a current appraiser's license, which you can ask for proof of when you hire them. If you don't know an appraiser to hire, then you can get some great recommendations from those you know, your real estate agent, or your mortgage lender, as they work with many and will know exactly who does great work and completes in a timely manner.

The appraiser will be at the property for several hours on average and will take some time to inspect the property inside and out. Based on their visual evaluation and other measures, they will provide an accurate home value that you will receive in writing within a few days, depending on their schedule. Plan to pay for the appraisal when it is completed unless they tell you otherwise. Sometimes you can pay for the appraisal as part of your home's closing costs or loan refinance costs.

Evaluate the Market Conditions

In addition to going through your home and property, your appraiser will take into consideration the market conditions and other properties nearby. They are going to use recent home sales in your area to help them come to a valuation, which they will use historical data from the MLS (multiple listing service) and other appraisal data fields. 

When the appraiser looks at homes that have sold recently, their sales prices reflect how much buyers are willing to pay for a home, which establishes your home's value, as it is similar. In an area where homes are selling quickly with bidding wars from multiple buyers, this can help your home's value to go up as well, to increase your equity when you sell or when you refinance your mortgage. 

Look at Specific Home Details

The size of your home, its number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the type of floor plan, its age, and the size of the lot are also going to be factors in its appraisal. The more features and amenities your home has will add value to its appraisal and make it worth more to you, your lender, and another buyer.

For more information, contact a real estate appraisal specialist in your area.