Appraisal Prep: What Sellers Need to Know

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We're getting closer! 🎉

If your buyer is financing their purchase, their lender will typically order an appraisal to help determine the property's fair market value.

The appraiser is an independent third party hired by the lender. They'll look at your home, its features and condition, and comparable properties to develop their opinion of value.

And before you start panic-cleaning:

This is NOT another photo day. 😂

How Should You Prepare?

The appraisal appointment itself is usually pretty painless. I recommend budgeting about 45 minutes, with the appraiser potentially spending only around 20 minutes inside.

You don't need to make the house picture-perfect. Moving boxes are completely okay. You also don't necessarily need to leave during the appointment.

Just make sure the appraiser can easily access the house and its important features, give the exterior a quick spruce if the curb appeal needs a little love, and don't be surprised when they take photos. That's a normal part of documenting the property.

What Is the Appraiser Looking At?

They're not there to judge whether they like your sofa.

They're gathering information about the property - its size, condition, features, improvements, and other characteristics - and comparing it with relevant sales in the area.

In other words:

We're done impressing buyers. Now we're establishing value.

And this is where I come back into the picture.

I Do a Little Homework, Too

I don't just confirm the appointment for the appraiser and hope for the best.

I prepare an appraisal package with information that may help them understand how the market responded to your property and how we arrived at our value.

Depending on the sale, that can include:

  • The comparable properties we used when pricing your home

  • A list of improvements and upgrades you've made

  • How many showings the property received

  • Information about other offers, when applicable

  • Other relevant details about the house or sale that may help provide context

The appraiser is independent and ultimately determines their own opinion of value - I can't tell them what your house is worth.

But I can make sure they aren't evaluating it without information that could be useful.

My job is to give them the receipts. 😉

When Will We Know What It Appraised For?

Here's the funny part:

We may never know the actual number.

The buyer paid for the appraisal, so the report belongs to them. What we're really hoping to hear from the lender is:

“We have value, and no repairs are required.”

Beautiful. No notes. Carry on. 😂

If the appraisal creates an issue - whether that's value or a lender-required repair - we'll deal with it together if and when it happens.

The Big Picture

Compared with everything you've already done to get your house ready for market, appraisal day is easy.

Make the house accessible. Don't worry about the moving boxes. Expect a few photos. And carry on with packing.

I'll make sure the appraiser has the information that helps tell the story of the value we've created.

You've already done the hard part. We're getting close to the finish line! 🎉