A home appraisal, as the name implies, reveals the true value of a home. This is determined after a thorough, hour-long inspection by a professional, who will take photos of every area of the house, indoors and out.

The benefits of a home appraisal are:

  • To help homebuyers find out if they’re paying a fair price for a home.
  • To prevent a bank from lending out more money than the home is worth, which increases the risk in investment.
  • To help lenders determine how much money to lend homebuyers if they’re refinancing.

That value determined by an appraisal report, however, can increase or take a nose-dive based on a few of these key factors. So, if you’re buying, selling or refinancing a home, take note, with the insight of an experienced real estate agent, of the sorts of improvements that will price a home at top dollar. 

The interior of your home needs some TLC.

To prep for the appraiser, make sure your home’s interior is picture-perfect by:

  • Cleaning every room and closet
  • Declutter by packing away personal items and collectibles
  • Paint interior walls a neutral color to brighten things up and appeal to more homebuyers
  • Update drapes or curtains and replace any damaged blinds
  • Making any added features, like extra storage, accessible to the appraiser

Improve your curb appeal.

As we all know, your home’s front façade and curb appeal can make or break an interested buyer’s first impression, so these fix-its should be in place:

  • Tidy and trim up bushes, shrubs, and trees.
  • Add a pop of color by planting annual or perennial flowers in your landscaping or flower boxes.
  • Freshen up your exterior paint color, including the front door and shutters, or power wash.
  • Update your garage door with new hardware.
  • Stage your front porch with a couple chairs, throw pillows and flower pots. (Just keep it clean and simple.)

Update your kitchen and bathrooms.

These are the hotspots of the home, where they can hurt the appraisal if not updated, but it’s also where you can add the most value by:

  • Refacing cabinets
  • Replacing any outdated drawer pulls and cabinet handles, lighting, and countertops
  • Updating appliances, including sink and faucet
  • Refreshing paint color in the bathrooms
  • Updating the bathroom mirror, light fixture, faucets, and shower curtain

Have your outdoor living space looking its best.

Our coastal location is a prime area for premier outdoor living spaces to grill, gather, relax, and entertain, so it’s important to refinish, paint, or stain your deck or back patio to present a welcoming space.

After all of this hard work, create a list of all home improvements for the home appraiser, including documents and sales receipts to show the date and cost of the upgrade or installation.

If you need to get your home appraised, enlist Paige Bird, the #1 South Carolina RE/MAX agent for the last eight years. In 2021 she: negotiated the sales price for her clients to get 1.27% more than the area’s MLS; sold 115 homes for a total of $33.9 million; sold 68 of those above sales price, with an average list to sales price of 99.08%; and sold listings ranging from $8500 to $1.495 million.

Contact Paige Bird today so she can sit down with you to get started in the home selling process at 843-450-4773.