Appraisals Can Help Sellers Accept Pricing

An experienced real estate professional can generally price a home for sale properly, but sometimes it pays to get a second opinion.
By: Amy Hoak: REALTOR® Magazine Online
The appraisal will analyze the health of the local real estate market, giving homeowners more personalized expectations for selling their home, which can be helpful given the plethora of national news stories generalizing the real estate market, says Alan Hummel, past president of the Appraisal Institute and chief appraiser for St. Paul, Minn.-based Forsythe Appraisals LLC.

Here are some tips from the Appraisal Institute for getting the most out of an appraisal:

    • Expect the appraisal to include side-by-side comparisons of similar
      properties, notations of major problems with the property that will affect its
      value, and an estimate of the expected time it will take the property to sell.

    • Don’t expect an appraisal to replace a home inspection. Appraisals are
      opinions of value. Inspections look for physical imperfections.

    • Suggest sellers focus on items that caused a negative adjustment to the
      appraisal. They can be a good checklist for fix-up projects before putting the
      house on the market.

    • Urge the sellers not to be shocked or angered by the results of the appraisal.
      Remind them it is an impartial report and a tool for accurately pricing the
      property.