Whether you’re buying, selling, or refinancing a home, a home appraisal is essential. It provides lenders with the necessary insights to determine the appropriate loan amount, while giving both buyers and sellers confidence that the financing will align with the property’s true value. We’ll break down why appraisals are so important and what you should do once you have your appraisal in hand.
What is a home appraisal?
A home appraisal is when a third-party professional assesses your home’s value and reports it to all the people involved in a real estate transaction.
All three parties – the buyer, seller, and lender need to know how much the home is worth, in order to set up the real estate transaction for success.
Why is a home appraisal important?
Lenders want to make sure they’re not lending more money than the home’s worth. Buyers want to make sure that they’re paying the right price. And sellers want to make sure that the offer won’t fall through because of a low appraisal. With an unbiased third party performing home appraisals, it gets everyone on the same page (avoiding surprises later).
How do home appraisals work?
Home appraisals help protect the lender by helping them determine the appropriate amount of money to loan out. A lender will also request and book the appraisal, but it’s often paid for by the borrower. It’s good to note that in some purchase agreements, the seller might agree to pay for it as a concession to the buyer.
All 50 states require that appraisers be certified by their appraisal agencies and that they have no personal connection to the property that may sway their analysis. Once they have appraised the property, they’ll prepare an appraisal report and deliver it to the lenders, seller, and buyer.
The appraiser is required to do five things:
- Perform a complete visual inspection of the interior and exterior areas of the property
- Inspect the neighborhood
- Inspect each of the comparable sales from the street (or a larger area)
- Research, verify, and analyze data from reliable public and/or private sources
- Report their analysis, opinions, and conclusions in an appraisal report
Quick note: Home appraisals are not necessarily in-depth, detailed inspections. But, generally, the more sale-ready the home, the higher the appraisal so it’s always a good idea to boost a home’s curb appeal and do cosmetic improvements wherever you can.
How many types of home appraisals are there?
Not all appraisals are the same. There are three main types of appraisals for different properties and transactions.
- Market approach
Also known as Sales Comparison Approach, this method is based on a comparison with similar property sales in the area. Must include at least 3 sales closed in the past 12 months.
- Income approach
This approach allows investors to estimate the value of a property based on how much income it will bring in. Divide the net operating income of rent by the capitalization rate to estimate a value.
- Cost approach
As the value of the property is dependent on completion of the project, most construction lenders require this method. To calculate the value, take the cost of improvements less the amount of depreciation plus the estimated value of the site if vacant.
How do appraisers make their conclusion?
A home appraiser will compare your home to similar homes in the area to get a sense of what other buyers would pay for it. These comparisons are called comps.
Besides the property itself, appraisers will look at comparable recent sales, or “comps,” to get a full picture of the home’s value. Comps are properties deemed similar enough to your property to use in estimating your property’s value. Usually, around three comps are required. But these days, most appraisal reports include 6 comps.
What are the comps that appraisers use?
- Size: At the most basic level, similar size means similar square footage, and the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Location: Location means not only proximity, but also the neighborhood and school district
- Number of rooms: While a four-bedroom, two-bath house could seem similar to a three-bedroom, two-bath house, the extra bedroom can add $100,000 or more to the price. Also, don’t overlook the impact of square footage on the home’s value.
- Recent sales: Depending on the market, “recently sold” can mean anywhere between 90 days and 6 months as the outer limit. as the outer limit. Recency is a very important factor to consider.
- Age: Newly built homes tend to have higher home value (even if they have similar features such as the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms).
- Condition: A home with a new roof will have a higher value than a home with a roof that leaks.
Because no two homes are 100% identical, appraisers often bracket the characteristics of the home to determine the value.
Can a home appraisal value affect my loan?
The most important thing to know is that your mortgage lender can only provide a loan based off of the lower of the appraisal value or the purchase price.
So, if the appraisal value comes in lower than the price you offered on your contract, you might be in a situation where you have to make up the difference between the two prices.
For example, let’s say you offer to buy your future home for $500,000 and plan to put 5% down. In this scenario, you are planning to put $25,000 down and receive a loan of $475,000 from your lender.
Then, imagine that the appraisal value comes back at $480,000. Since most mortgage lenders can only lend up to 95% of the home’s value, that means your new loan amount is a maximum of $456,000.
Since your contract requires $500,000 for the house (assuming there are no contingencies), that means your new downpayment is $44,000 ($500,000 – $456,000).
The good news is that all buyers have a right to receive a copy of the appraisal and contest the appraisal should they find inaccurate information or better comparables to appeal the appraisal value.
A home appraisal is not the same thing as a home inspection, but it’s a good idea to do minor preparations for the best result
What to do if your home appraisal comes out low
A home appraisal is just one person’s opinion and can be appealed, but it’s not necessarily easy. You can write a written appeal to the lender and request a new appraisal, but you’ll need to have overwhelming evidence that the appraisal is wrong. We go in depth about what to do with a low appraisal here.
The best way to gain a favorable home appraisal is to be prepared. Here’s a home appraisal checklist we think might be your best bet yet.
- Document all the home improvements you’ve completed
- Increase curb appeal by cleaning, painting, or just doing light gardening
- Finish minor repairs like broken light switches, holes in drywall, creaky floorboards
- Work with the appraiser on their schedule
- Don’t bother the appraiser during the inspection
Remember: Home appraisals mainly help the lender determine the risk of the loan but knowing how much the home is worth helps everybody involved in the transaction. It’s in your best interest to prepare, no matter if you’re the buyer or seller. Know how much your home is worth so you know what to expect when it comes to the actual purchase price of the home. You can also sign up with Flyhomes so a real estate agent can help you navigate the process of a home appraisal, things to keep ready and help you get the home appraisal outcome you want.
