Tips your clients can use to combat a low home appraisal and lift the value of their home.
Your clients have recently had their home appraised and are shocked at the results. According to the appraiser’s report, the value of their home is significantly lower than they were expecting. What do they do now? As their real estate agent, they turn to you for advice. A recent article on RealtyBizNews.com may help your clients who have received an appraisal they believe to be too low.
“A low home appraisal sure feels like bad news. However, sometimes, it’s bad news that can be avoided, or even turned around for the better,” blogger Elizabeth Lee wrote in the article.
Give your home a lift
Have your clients try these suggestions from Lee to turn a low appraisal around:
• View their home from someone else’s perspective — First determine whether the appraisal, though lower than your clients would like it to be, is actually fair. If it is, get started correcting things that may be dragging down your home’s value.
“Be aware of the defects in your home, and think about the way you would perceive your home if you were a potential buyer viewing it for the first time,” Lee wrote. “This will give you a starting point.”
• Correct what they can — Although structural defects may be too large for sellers to tackle, clients should correct as many other problems as they can. Major renovations such as roof replacements will offer a significant return on investment, according to Lee.
Major renovations such as roof replacements will offer a significant return on investment.
• Be hands-on — Lee suggested clients be present during the appraisal to ensure the appraiser doesn’t miss anything, such as unenclosed land that is part of your client’s property. “If you have storage discretely built into your home that may be overlooked, such as attic doors or closets located beneath stairs, point these features out to the appraiser,” Lee wrote. Making a list of things they want the appraiser to see is also a good idea.
• Set the stage — Get rid of clutter that may obscure the condition of walls and clean your outside property so that it is easily accessible. “Try to get your home to a state where it’s as open and bare as possible,” Lee wrote.
More strategies
Those strategies are great, but there may be factors beyond your clients’ control that are contributing to their low appraisal, according to Lee. In that case, they can try:
• Disputing the appraisal — If your clients have a legitimate reason to think their appraisal is inaccurate, they can dispute the results. “You can discuss things you don’t understand with the appraiser and request that he or she goes over the details one more time,” Lee wrote. In addition, Lee suggested the appraiser may offer advice to help boost the home’s value.
Clients should be present during the appraisal to ensure the appraiser doesn’t miss anything, such as unenclosed land that is part of their property.
• Realize it’s not their fault — A low residential appraisal may be due to the home’s surrounding area or local real estate market. “There isn’t much you can do about that unless you intend to go door to door remodeling houses or advertise all of the real estate in your community,” Lee wrote.
• Wait it out — A low appraisal could also mean the market is not as lucrative as your clients think it is. They may need to wait until the housing market is more stable. “If holding on a year can help you net an extra $20,000 on the sale of your home, you may be better off doing so,” Lee wrote.
What tips would you offer clients who have received a less than favorable appraisal? Share with us in the comments below!
Source: “7 Ways You Can Beat a Low Home Appraisal,” RealtyBizNews.com (Apr. 20, 2017)
