Moving Blog
June 30, 2017

Top Things That Will Drag Down Your Appraisal

Waiting for an appraisal can be excruciating. You hold your breath, open the document and realize it came in way lower than you would have liked. What happened? This is a predicament many people face every year – the process for appraising a home can feel confusing. Here are a few factors that can bring down your appraisal value.

Comparable Homes
One of the biggest factors that determines your appraisal value will be the comparable home sale values. The appraiser will look for historical data of homes sold in your area, which are comparable to your home, and will use that as a baseline for the value. Sometimes this can be an issue if there hasn’t been a home sold recently or if comparables are extremely under-valued for a reason unseen. For instance if there was a mold issue or a damaged roof – the appraiser may not take the time to investigate into why the price is on the lower end.

Basement ROI
If you have sunk a lot of money into making your basement a place of respite, that may be another reason the value seems low. If your basement is under-ground, appraisers typically treat any square footage that is under-ground as less valuable than the upstairs square footage.

Market Pace
If the market was in a recent dip or is in an aggressive increase, the comparable home sale prices may not be reflective of this. The comparables again, may not be giving the appraiser an accurate depiction of your home value.

The View is Hiding
If your home has a spectacular view that is unique to your home, apartment or condo – be sure to let the appraiser know. You want to make sure this advantage is obvious.

Investments
There are a number of other factors that could lead to a lower appraisal price; many include home investments that don’t return dollar-for-dollar like landscaping, swimming pools and/or tennis courts. Although they should increase your home value, you shouldn’t expect to get back the exact amount you paid for these features.

Once you’ve navigated through the appraisal process, you’ll be ready to line-up a mover – be sure to give A-1 Freeman a call to offer you a no-obligation, free moving estimate. We would love to make your move as easy and stress-free as possible.

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