Establish Your Selling Price with a Professional Home Appraisal

Arranging for a professional home appraisal by a certified home appraiser is money wisely spent. It's the sure way to price your for sale by owner home at fair market value.

Your Valuation is Wrong

It is human nature for owners to believe their property is worth more than it really is. If you've decided to sell, you have probably kept track of homes selling in your neighborhood. You concentrate on those that have sold at close to or higher than what you believe your house is worth.

You might be overestimating the value of upgrades you put into your home. For instance, if you installed a $50,000 kitchen in a $200,000 home, you do not have a $250,000 home. You will get more than if you did not have that kitchen, but you won't get an extra $50,000.

Comparing homes similar to yours that have recently sold in your area is not a reliable way to establish a price for your house. The other houses would have to have been built in the same year, have an identical floor plan, finished with the same quality of materials and sit on same-size lots.

A home appraisal is the more accurate method of establishing your price. Simply hire an impartial, professional appraiser to assess the value of your home and write a check when he is finished. It won't cost more than a few hundred dollars.

And you avoid a potential problem like in this scenario: 

You advertise your home at what you believe its worth and find a buyer. Then the buyer applies for a mortgage and finds that the mortgage company will only lend him money based on a price below what he has offered - the value set by the mortgage company's appraiser. The buyer will walk away or demand the appraised price.

As a FSBO seller, having the value of your home established by a home appraisal ranks up there with providing a home inspection. You ease a potential buyer's worry that the price is too high and you cement his confidence in your integrity.

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