Minneapolis MN Appraisal Boosting Projects

The good old home appraisal, the one thing that determines your home’s value and it’s still a mystery to most people. But having a little knowledge of how an appraisal works and how an appraiser will grade your home is very important when getting a value put on your home. We all know that banks and real estate transactions use appraisals to determine a value of the home. When getting an appraisal we must take in account these major factors:

Location: Appraiser use what we call “comps” or comparables. These are similar homes around your neighborhood that have been recently sold on the market.

Livable SF: Square footage of the home that is livable. Take in account that basements will in most cases not be counted as livable space, even if they are finished.

# of Bedrooms: The amount of liveable bedrooms above ground.

# of Bathrooms: The amount of bathrooms you have above ground.

You get the pattern for what appraisers are looking for when they come to your home. They aren’t looking for new kitchen counter tops, or what color paint you used in the living room. The exterior window replacements might not make the list for the appraiser either. The most important appraisal booster for your home will be adding a bathroom or another bedroom to your home if it makes sense. When I say, “makes sense” I mean that if homes in your area have four bedrooms in the livable area and your home only has three bedrooms. Well, if you added another bedroom to your home it would help your home value compare to those homes that have the fourth bedroom hopefully giving your home a higher value.

Remember, if the appraiser doesn’t have comparable homes in your neighborhood you might not get the value you’re hoping for, so be smart with your add-ons. Over improving your home won’t provide any significant return so be sure to understand your neighborhood’s characteristics.

Lastly, when I worked at a bank in the home mortgage department, I received plenty of complaints from homeowners about their appraisals.  Foreclosures and short sales can sometimes drive down the price of your home, so be aware of this problem. Also, have a neat and tidy home when the appraiser arrives. Be nice, and make sure they notice all the rooms in your home. Being nice and helping them out with questions without being pushy might leave the appraiser in a mind set of helping your home’s value.

Next week we will discuss Minneapolis Curb Appeal Projects.