What Sellers Need To Know About Appraisals

By Ressie Krabacher

As a local resident and top performing REALTOR® in Chicago, Ressie Krabacher is relentlessly focused on helping her clients move forward. She serves as an advocate and advisor for buying or selling, overseeing relocation, or adding home ownership to their financial goals.

Are you thinking about selling your home? If so, how exciting! This process means a fresh start and new beginnings. However, before you list your property, it is important that you completely understand appraisals. An appraisal is an opinion of value, where an expert appraiser will come to your house and estimate how much it is worth. They will provide a written report based on their inspection of pertinent information that determines your home’s value. This could greatly affect the success and price point of your sale, so it is crucial to be prepared. Here are three common appraisal questions and their answers: 

1. What are appraisers looking for? They consider a wide variety of factors, like the floorplan, quality of construction, finishes, number of bedrooms, and square footage. They will compare your home to the listing to make sure the features are accurate. Also, they’ll take note of any upgrades that have been made to the house and if there were the proper permits for them, so make sure you have all of that in order beforehand. Last, they will be looking at comparable home sales in your area.

2. Why does an appraisal gap occur, and what should I do if it happens? Home prices are rising rapidly, which increases the likelihood of appraisal gaps. That happens when the value the appraiser provides is less than the agreed-upon price. There are several things you can do if this happens, so make sure you have a professional on your side to guide you through your options. 

3. Should I get a pre-appraisal done? This is when sellers get an appraiser to look at their home before they list. I understand why people might think to do this, but I wouldn’t recommend it. First, the appraisal is normally seen as the buyer’s responsibility since it is typically a requirement for them to get a loan. Also, some lenders won’t even accept the appraisal you get because they’ll want it to be done by someone they deem as an impartial third party. Selling your home can be expensive, so you don’t want to pay for things that are unnecessary.

Appraisals can be a confusing part of the process for many people, so don’t hesitate to ask me any questions that you have. Call or email me anytime; I am here to be your real estate resource. I look forward to helping you through the selling process!