An inspection and an appraisal may have different purposes, but in the end, they both work together to paint a picture of how much a property is worth to the buyer. Determining exactly what needs to be fixed and repaired is also very important when it comes to properly appraising a home, because if the buyer will have to fix $20,000 worth of plumbing, the appraiser will have to note that down. In hopes of accurately pricing a home, an appraiser must be very careful at taking into consideration every aspect of the home’s state and it’s location.

Other important pieces of information that are part of ever appraiser’s report are things that relate to the property itself. For example the exact measurements of the land, an evaluation of the real estate market locally, some of the advantages or disadvantages of the property, whether there are basic necessities such as water, drainage, and trash service. The closeness of schools, buses, and a short estimate on the expected appreciation of the property over a certain period of time.

Home Inspections:

It’s important to always have a professional home inspection, as well as an appraisal and a pest inspection done before purchasing any home that isn’t new. You want to find any potential problems before signing the purchase agreement or any other documents. Having all the relevant information about a home is the most important factor of purchasing one. Even if the seller isn’t required to fix any problems the inspection finds, you can still be prepared to add on the expenses or prepare to make the repairs at a later date. Especially if it’s a major problem that might cause more damage if it goes unnoticed for a long time. Assuming the seller is in a hurry, they’ll want the inspection done fast, so have an inspection company ready before making an official offer for the home. If you are concerned about the cost of the repairs needed, you can negotiate a discount from the purchase price in anticipation of the repairs. Some sellers will take a substantial discount if they are desperate to sell the property. Make sure there is always a home inspection in the contingency offer, since you can get a chance to cancel the offer if there are too many problems found in the inspection. Just remember that inspections are mandatory in my book. Always get one.

Walk-Through Inspection

Right before you close on the deal, make sure you take a final walkthrough of the property, personally revisit every corner of the house and inspect all the appliances to be in working condition. If there were any repairs to be done by the seller, make sure those are also inspected to make sure they were done correctly and in a professional manner.

How Do I determine Fair Market Value?

• The best way of determining fair market value of a home is to browse the local real estate magazines and listings. You can also look back as far as six months and compare the prices of the homes sold in your neighborhood and surrounding areas. Of course, you have to make sure they are similar in size and have similar amenities.
• Your realtor is also a great source of knowledge, ask them for advice. They usually are experts when it comes to knowing exactly how to price a home based on the local market and demand. Don’t take their entire word for it though, take their recommendations and do some of your own research before making a final decision on a listing price.
• Don’t forget to consider market conditions currently, we are in a buyer’s market which means you have to be alot more aggressive to get the buyer’s attention. You can always sweeten the purchase by adding extra goodies other home sellers aren’t offering.

The Right Agent:

Finding a great real estate agent is one of the most important steps towards selling your home quickly. Make sure you find that agent that constantly makes better decisions than other agents and has the most experience. Although finding one with enough experience will not be the easiest task, you must make sure they are well qualified to sell your home fast. Get feedback from previous clients and investigate how other sales came through. An agent is extremely important because they will do the most interactions with a buyers and this can make or break a sale.

Prepare the home:

Your home must look impeccable, the buyers will want to see their possible home as clean as possible. Create their vision of a perfect home and always make sure your home has enough curb appeal to attract eyeballs. The more people see the home listing, the faster it will sell. The lawn and landscaping are very important aspects of a home, they make a home look beautiful. Make your home the prettiest home in the neighborhood. Replace all your personal family items with neutral items that will help the buyer paint a picture with their personal items in the home. You can use flowers, artwork, or something else. Also remember to clean up any clutter.

When you’re dealing with a small home, hiring a professional stager for a few hundred dollars is a very wise investment. Hiring a professional home stage is simple, just ask your real estate agent for a referral and they should be able to help you find one. Below are simple guidelines that will help you achieve a successful home staging if you prefer not to hire someone:

• Does the room have oversized furniture? Sometimes when being in a room, it might feel cluttered and small due to the size and amount of furniture in it. Make sure you take out some of the larger pieces to make the space feel bigger and wide.
• The Paint: Walls are everywhere in a home, and the color of the walls is extremely important for the look of the home. Find a nice neutral or light paint that will help the room seem bigger and wider. Also limit the amount of pictures or artwork on the walls, the appear cluttered sometimes.
• Making it flow: If your home has a flow, meaning you can waltz from room to room without problems. It also means you must match the decor of each room individually to a theme of your choice.

Getting Visitors:

The marketing aspect of a home listing is probably the most important one of them all. Because if you don’t advertise your home for sale, nobody will come! The words in your ad are incredibly crucial! Instead of using the word “small” to describe the home, you could use “cozy” or “warm. You get the  point, it’s all about creating a story for the visitor and making it credible.

Staging:

The home staging industry is rapidly growing, there are thousands of professional stagers and real estate professionals who specialize in making a home look it’s best for visitors. The key to staging your home is to accent the positive sides of the home and hide the negative aspects of it. By doing so, you can easily sell a home faster than simply hoping it would sell on it’s own. Home staging means you’ll have to go from room to room, fixing furniture and adding small accent pieces to make the home look bigger.

Read Part Two…

Luckily for you, we have alot of ways to help you improve your chances of getting your previous home sold fast, and to make sure you get the best price possible. Below are some important tips that will help you achieve this.

Priced to sell:

The first thing a buyer looks at when considering a home purchase is the price. The number one and most important factor of selling a home is the price. If you wish your home to be sold fast, make sure you list it a a very fair market value. If you overprice your house, it could drag out the sale for months! Simply because the price, buyers will completely cross it off their list and not consider it. The amount of showings will be dramatically reduced simply because the price of a home is not good. If you price your home within a fair market value, you can have several offers soon and have them all compete for the home after they’ve fallen in love with it. An undervalued home will always attract competition from several different parties.

Read Part Two…

Condition of the property:

You probably haven’t thought about what you want your house to look like when the seller moves out, but it’s important to consider that it might be left in a complete disaster if you don’t specify how you want it in the contract. Make sure you outline specific requirements for the buyer to comply with. You also want to outline how the appliances included in the sale should be working, that the sewer is working properly, that all the electrical and plumbing is up to standards, that no broken or cracked windows are in the house, and that the house is clean. This includes any trash that the previous owner might have left behind. You also want to mention the condition of the landscaping, if any.

Read Part Two…

Appraisals are done according to the condition of the property itself, which is often confused with an inspection. An appraisal and an inspection are two totally different things. Especially if you are making a purchasing decision from neither of the documents, knowing the difference between the two is crucial for carrying out an educated decision. An inspection is usually dedicated to the physical appearance of the property, the structure’s strength, and it’s compliance with city and state building codes. On the other hand, an appraisal is focused on the financial aspects of the property, it calculates the worth of the home, taking into consideration it’s location, amenities (pool, screen, garage, etc) and some of the defects brought out by the inspection.  There are instances where the appraiser may refer to the inspection’s results, but it isn’t mandatory.

Read Part Two…

Before actually applying for financing, make sure you understand every aspect of your renovation project, knowing the amount of time and money you need exactly will make the financing become readily available. Are you simply improving your bathroom cosmetically, are you tearing down the wallpaper, are you tearing down a wall? Removing a sink? Adding a sink, replacing a shower? If your changes are purely cosmetic, you won’t require financing at all. I recommend you save up for the improvements instead. However, if you plan on ripping out your entire kitchen and replacing it with a new design, you are going to need a large budget with the possibility of over expenses. Once you figure out exactly how much money you require, consider some unexpected expenses, you can decide which financing option fits your monthly budget the best.

Below we detail some of your choices:

Home Equity:
If your renovation plans are massive, you can take out a loan against your home equity. Meaning the amount of money you’ve paid towards your mortgage. Your home equity is the easiest financing option out of them all, since lenders are eager to let you borrow from your home.

Cash-out refinancing:

In case you have a large amount of equity built up in your home, you can refinance the mortgage to a higher amount and the lender will cash out the difference between the new loan and your old mortgage balance. This is another good option if your plans for improvements are large.
Home equity line of credit:

A HELOC is also called a revolving line of credit secured against your home’s value. This works great if your home improvement project is “Do It Yourself” or is a pay as you go from the contractor. This means you can access the money you borrowed as needed with a checkbook or card that is attached to the loan itself.

Personal Loan or Credit Line:

For those simpler and cheaper home improvement projects, you can apply for a personal loan or a line of credit from your bank. Unlike the two options above, this option is not secured against your home, which means the lender will charge more interest to cover the higher risk of possible default. This also means you aren’t tapping out the resources in your home equity which could come in handy later in the life of your family for a bigger project. This financing option is not tax deductible, unlike the options mentioned above.

Using a Credit Card:
Another creative way of financing your home improvement project is by using your credit cards. This is also a great option if you are doing a “do it yourself” project like we mentioned above. There are some companies who offer zero percent interest as an introductory rate, which means you’ll save alot of money on the interest payments. Another thing to consider when using credit cards is to apply for a credit card at the store you are purchasing. They usually offer discounts and low interest rates which will help lower your expenses.