Top 3 Tips to Improve Your Lehigh Valley Home Appraisal

So often I hear that a home’s appraised value turns out to be less than what the homeowner was expecting and anticipating, especially if improvements have been made to the home over time.

Low appraisals are becoming a bigger problem for many would-be buyers and refinancers due to home values starting to stabilize and even rise in some markets, like here in the Lehigh Valley.

Not only is our area seeing signs of stabilization, we are starting to experience an increase in the price of homes, as well as a slight increase in interest rates. If you’re a buyer still on the fence about whether or not now is a good time, take a look at what waiting could be costing you.

Back to your home appraisal. If you are a seller, you need your home to appraise for at least what you want to sell it for. If you’re refinancing, you will only be able to get a loan for the appraised value of your home. In both of these situations, you want your home appraisal to be as accurate and high as possible.

Here are a few helpful tips to improve your home appraisal in the Lehigh Valley:

The first rule in documenting improvements, upgrades, and other fixes you’ve made to your home is to be able to PROVE it, so hanging onto your receipts becomes very important! Whether it was a short trip to the store for a new faucet or a complete renovation, you’ll want to be able to show the home appraiser documentation so he or she can accurately determine a value.

In addition to receipts, be able to provide before and after pictures, and be sure to make the home appraiser aware of any structural improvements to the harder to see items like electrical systems and heating and cooling systems, which play a large factor in the appraisal.

Comps, or comparables, are regarded as the single-best tool in determining a home’s value. They contrast criteria from recently-sold properties in a neighborhood, such as sale price, age of house, size, and square footage.

Prepare in advance and provide your appraiser with at least three solid and well-priced comparable properties to insure the price information is really similar to yours. I can help you determine comps in the Lehigh Valley, so please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Kitchens and bathrooms typically provide the highest return on investment, so if you’re going to be making changes, start there. Other home improvement projects that add the most value are wood floors, landscaping and an attached garage.

What other home appraisal information would be helpful to you?

My name is Barbara Bottitta and I am a Realtor/Partner with Keller Williams Real Estate and team leader for the Barb Bottitta Team of Lehigh Valley Home Experts. Our team of professionals include a listing and closing specialist so that from the starting line to the dotted line you won’t find another agent or team that provides better service, works harder – or cares more – than the Barb Bottitta Team.  My husband, Lou, and I have lived in LowerMac for over 30 years; our grown children, Lisa and Matt (Tito) attended Emmaus High School and we feel fortunate that our grandson, Ethan, is growing up in the Lehigh Valley as well.