Pre-Listing Appraisal Services

If you consider selling your house on your own, you're probably going to be at a disadvantage.  The marketing resources at your disposal are inherently limited and much of the highest quality data is not available unless you're a member of the local board of Realtors.  

If you're working with a real estate agent to list your property, it's likely that they’ll provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), citing sales and competing listings in your area - one of the first steps in determining a reasonable asking price.  This step is vital if you're going to maximize your profit and minimize the property's time on the market.

But whether you're going at it alone or you're working with the most experienced real estate agent in town, it may be in your best interest to receive an objective opinion of value from a disinterested third-party.  And that’s where we come in.  We can provide you with a pre-listing appraisal with an accurate description of your property's features, a detailed analysis of the most recent and similar comparable sales and an overview of your strongest competition.  In addition to helping you set a realistic selling price so your property will attract buyers, a professional appraisal can:

• Be a valuable negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer
• Impress buyers with a written assessment of the property's features/amenities
• Uncover potential problems and eliminate last-minute repair hassles that might delay a closing
• Decrease the chances of unknown problems that cause sales to fall through
• Eliminate the wait for the buyer or their mortgage company to get the appraisal done on their own*

Many people are surprised when they find out that the market value of their property is more than they thought.  The cost of a professional appraisal in these cases is a small investment that can return several thousand dollars more than anticipated when the property is sold.  On the other hand, an inflated opinion of the property's value will do more to hinder its sale than any other factor.  An overpriced property will not attract buyers, which means no offers and no closing.  The result is wasted valuable time, money, and efforts.

Improvements to add value
In addition to “how much?”, there may be other important questions to ask yourself before listing your property.  Questions like ''Would it be better to paint the entire house before we sell it?”, ''Should I put in that third bathroom?'', ''Should I complete my kitchen remodel?'', etc.  Many property improvements have a positive impact on value.  However, not all have an equal effect and rarely does cost equate with value.  While a kitchen remodel may improve the appeal of a house, it may not add nearly enough to the value to justify the expense.

We can step in and help make these decisions.  Unlike a real estate agent, an appraiser has no vested interest in what amount the house sells for.  Our fees are based on the scope of work and level of detail in the report....not a percentage of the sales price.  A professional appraisal can often help homeowners make the best decisions on investing in their homes and setting a fair sales price.

*Subject to establishing an engagement with the lender.