Ensure an accurate appraisal of your property

A home appraisal is an inspection of your property by a real estate agent prior to selling the property. The home appraisal is undertaken by the real estate agent to help determine a realistic selling price for your property and also to assist the property owner to present the home to make is more attractive to home buyers.
While the real estate agent can provide an estimated value of the property based on recent sales figures in your local neighbourhood, a thorough property appraisal will provide a more accurate figure.
To help assist the real estate agent to make a more accurate selling price for your home you should have a number of documents which should be provided at the time of your property appraisal.
These documents include a plan of your block which will give an exact size of the land your home is constructed upon. The size of the lot is very important because it will help to determine the land value of the property.
You should also try to obtain the building plans for your property. The building plans will give the real estate agent important information such as the precise size of the home, the name of the builder as well as a better understanding of the floor plan of the property.
The information provided by the building plans of the property will enable the real estate agent to determine the replacement cost of the property. This replacement cost is how much it would cost someone to build a similar property to your own.
Normally, the information relating to the lot and the building plans of your home can be obtained from the building department of your local council.
As part of the home appraisal process, the real estate agent will also try to determine the cost of replacing the internal and external finishing’s to the property such as floor coverings, window treatments and additional such as a patio area/ swimming pool.
The real estate agent will normally go through every room in the home during the home appraisal and make notes of each room to help determine the key selling points of the property.
During the home appraisal process, it is a good idea to inform the real estate agent about special features the home might have which might impact on the price of a the home. These features might include ‘smart wiring’, an alarm system, air conditioning and a ducted vacuum system.
All of the information about your home which the real estate agent obtains through the home appraisal will play a key role in the marketing of the home. The real estate agent should be as informed about your home as the owner to ensure that the key selling points of the property are promoted to prospective homebuyers.
The real estate agent also uses the appraisal process to give the property owner advice on how best to sell their home. For example, the home appraisal might show that there is too much furniture in some rooms which make the rooms appear smaller.
The home appraisal might also show that the selling price of the home could be improved through improved landscaping of the gardens or through an internal repaint of the kitchen and bathroom area. An experienced real estate agent, take the position of a home buyer and use the home appraisal to provide valuable advise on how best to present the home to achieve the best selling price for the property.
Are you considering on selling or looking for a market appraisal? Find your nearest Professionals Real Estate office for expert advice on the value of your home.