Question: Home Appraisals

kristinafh · #1 12-09-2002, 11:22 PM

Alrighty,

I want to get our home refinanced at a better rate. I've done my shopping to find the rate I want and with all of the remodeling we've been doing, I'm confident that we can get this rock bottom rate and I can convert my current 30 year mortgage to a 15 year mortgage.

The appraisal place will be calling me this week to schedule a time to come out.

I've never had my house appraised before for refinancing (or sheesh - for anything).

I have two rooms in my house - the spare bedroom and my son's bedroom - which are not in "great" shape. What I mean by that is that they both could use a thorough cleaning. Will it make that big of a difference if I don't take a mop and bucket (and everything else) to it?

Thoughts???

**mrisch**[$] · #2 12-09-2002, 11:31 PM

No need to clean at all. Appraisers are trained - quite will - to look at the structure and not what's in it. It all comes down to square footage and how much comparable houses have sold for. A cleaning will add very little to your value.

Now, whether you should clean anyway is another story

kristinafh · #3 12-09-2002, 11:35 PM

Thanks Michael

.

The REAL question - are you volunteering? I bet I have a mop and bucket that will fit you JUST RIGHT

.

*emeleel* · #4 12-09-2002, 11:35 PM

My house is always a disaster area and has been appraised twice - never seemed to make any difference, I believe they were right on target.

Quote:

Now, whether you should clean anyway is another story

ROFL

kristinafh · #5 12-09-2002, 11:37 PM

So if they are trained to look at the structure, what are they looking for? That my house is painted and well maintained? That I don't have a hole in my wall (oops - except for that thing I did this weekend which I am repairing

).

**mrisch**[$] · #6 12-09-2002, 11:47 PM

1. Is it under construction
2. What type of construction (wood, brick, etc)
3. What type of flooring and roof
4. Age
5. Square footage (big, big big)
6. What size lot
7. What type of neigborhood
8. Room makeup

These are all things you can't really do anything about

poseidon · #7 12-10-2002, 10:41 AM

Part of my job is to appraise the structure of anything we insured that has a claim on it. So, in a sense, I've got a darned good idea as to what they're looking for:

Mrisch has most of it right, but here's the factors we look for:

1. How many square feet is the ground level?
2. How many stories is it?
3. Is it single-family or multi-family?
4. Does it have a basement, crawlspace or it is built on a slab?
5. Is the basement finished?
6. Is the basement a walk-out?
7. Does it have an attic?
8. Is the attic finished?
9. Does it have a garage?
10. Is the garage attached or detached?
11. What size is the garage?
12. How is the home heated?
13. Is the home cooled, and how (a/c, swamp cooler, etc.).
14. What sort of construction is it (roof and structure)?
15. What class of construction is it (basic, custom, etc.)?
16. What year was the home built?
17. Are there any additions to the home?
18. What's the zip code that the home is in?
19. Does the home have a chimney and fireplace?
20. How many chimneys and fireplaces?

We have a list of other questions to determine value, but these are the basic ones we have to know the answers to. Most others will adjust the value slightly and aren't a big impact.

We like to know the housekeeping style of the insured for an entirely different reason.

The recent appraisals of similar homes in your zip code will also affect the value of your home.