What To Expect From Your House Appraisal

Having your house appraised can be a scary step in the moving process, especially if you don't know what to expect. Will your house pass muster or will they find some hidden defects and problems lurking in the basement and attic? Should you scrub the house clean?

Don't worry ? this isn't a test of how clean you keep your house or even if your house has problems (that will be for the home inspector to find out). The appraiser is there to determine a fair market value for your home. Whether you are selling the house or refinancing, this is a common part of the process and the inspector is quite used to traipsing about peoples homes in all kinds of disarray so you need not be embarrassed if your house is messy and it will not affect the value the appraiser puts on the property.

Determining the market value of your home is necessary so that your lender knows the home is valued at or above the amount of money you are borrowing. An appraisal is an estimate of worth. It is an opinion but is not entirely a subjective process. The FNMA, Federal National Mortgage Association sets up the guidelines and assigns values to certain assets of your home to ensure a fair sale.

The value of your home will be determined by comparing it to similar area properties that have sold in the past few months. The appraiser looks for properties that have the same number of bedrooms, baths, square footage and amenities like a fireplace or garage in your neighborhood or town. They start by looking at your neighborhood to find comparable sales or properties in similar neighborhoods that share similar characteristics of lifestyles, income level of residents, surroundings, average age and home values. A valid appraisal can be done when 3 or more properties similar to your own have been found.

Once the appraiser has these homes, there will be some adjustments made to take into consideration features that your home has the others don't or features they have that you don't. These features have nothing to do with your décor ? they are based solely on house size, rooms and amenities so your hot pink kitchen will not affect the value of your home appraisal!

The process is quite methodical and done to standard practices so you need not worry. If you are moving and you have hired a realtor, you will find the appraisal will come in right on the button for what they have valued your home at. Most realtors know the market quite well so you needn't worry that your buyer won't be able to secure funding because of your home appraisal.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.moving-and-more.com where you can learn more about moving and selling your house.

---

Escalation Clauses ? A Home Buyers Secret Weapon

Today we discuss escalation clauses because much of the country... Read More

Will The Real Home Buying Guide... Please Stand Up?

Use Google right now and do a search on, "Home... Read More

Property Investing

Wrapping a property is a simple concept that can create... Read More

How Come No One Told Us About This When We Were Buying a Home?

Development, it's bound to happen.Simply because there is a large... Read More

French Property - a Buyers Guide to Purchasing Property in France

The CompromisThis document is the document you will sign agreeing... Read More

U.S. Real Estate Sought By Foreign Investors Due to a Weaker Dollar

The weak US dollar has been good news for real... Read More

Join the Bulgarian Property Boom With Confidence

An Irish property investor in Sydney, Australia has created an... Read More

Condo-Hotels ? A New Second-Home Alternative to Time Shares

Condo-hotels have evolved as a better, more reliable second home... Read More

Selling Your Own Home ? Pet Issues

If you are selling you own home, you need to... Read More

The Real Estate Bubble Fallacy

There has been a lot of talk lately about the... Read More

Realtors: Forget Your Address?

It's a large real estate agency, and the company depends... Read More

Wealth Building ? An Advantage of Home Ownership

As you grow older, the issue of wealth building comes... Read More

Buying A Home ? What Is That Noise!?!

You've found the perfect home, closed escrow and just finished... Read More

Condo Hotels Offer Luxury and Great Investment Potential

Not Your Typical Vacation HomeWhat could be more perfect that... Read More

Fixtures

Fixtures, related to real estate, are items that were originally... Read More

Property Investment - What Future For the Biggest Bubble of All Time?

The Economist magazine published a special report in this months... Read More

Real Estate Professional in the Palm of Your Hand

GETTING THE MOST FOR THE LEASE-TRACKING YOUR REAL ESTATEIf you... Read More

Types Of Real Estate - An Investors Choice

There are different types of real estate, and different ways... Read More

Real Estate Investors: How to Get a Powerful Marketing Education for Free

I am a total geek.A few weeks ago, late at... Read More

Time Is A Major Real Estate Wealth Growth Tool, So Use IT And Watch Your...

In Real Estate "Time" is a Wealth Development ToolsReal estate... Read More

Selling Your Home ? What Can Go Wrong With Title and Lenders

If you're selling your home, there are going to be... Read More

Becoming A Battle Hardened Real Estate Veteran Without All The Scars

Step 1 is always to determine the fair market value(FMV).... Read More

Boom or Bust

For those looking to invest in the real estate market?keep... Read More

Cheap, Bargain, Real Estate; Good Deals, Below Market, Low Priced Properties Are Available...

Cheap, Bargain, Real Estate; Good Deals, Below Market, Low Priced... Read More

Real Estate Investing - Maximum Leveraging of Your Money

At this moment, you have access to some amount of... Read More

For Sale By Owner: The Inside Scoop On Selling Your Own Home

If you're thinking about selling your home perhaps the 'for... Read More

How to Research and Purchase a Good Investment Property

How much do you really know about investment property? Accurate... Read More

Equity

Equity is the value of your home minus what you... Read More

Real Estate: Financial Considerations $$$

Raw land as opposed to improved property is much more... Read More

Real Estate: The Consumers Will Have The Final Word!

"The first step toward change is awareness. The second step... Read More

Sell Your Home Without Paying Any Commissions

All of us know that real estate commissions can work... Read More

Investing in Real Estate Profitably: Financing Options for Purchase of Rental Houses, Part 1.

This is not an article about tricks for 100% (no... Read More

What To Expect In Closing Costs On A Home Purchase

Many are taking advantage of this year's low mortgage rates... Read More