Why hire an appraiser?
If you are trying to sell your home yourself, one thing you want to do is make sure you have a fair price for your home. How is that determined?
Contrary to popular belief, the tax assessed value of your home may not be anywhere near the current real estate market value. Market values and trends tend to fluctuate and have many variables. You also don’t want to price according to your neighbors house. Just because they may have something with a “price” on it does not mean it is a fair market price. Also, don’t assume that what a property was listed at is what it sold for. Currently, in our local market many sales may only get 78 – 85% of the listing price. Others may get less. And don’t just pull a number out of the air based on how you feel. You could be to high or worse, to low.
You may want to hire an appraiser. An appraiser uses a lot of information and resources that are available to him to find “comps” (comparable properties) based on recent sales. He then compares a lot of data such as location, type of structure, age/depreciation, replacement costs and more. This may cost a few hundred dollars to get this work done, but it may tell you if you want to sell now or not. It will also ensure that you don’t sell to cheap, leaving money on the table.
Another option is to list your property with a real estate agent. They can prepare you a CMA (Current Market Analysis) as a part of their service. While not an official appraisal a broker will use much of the same information and technique that an appraiser may use. True, many people trying to sell their home themselves do so because they don’t want to pay commissions, thinking they can save the money and put it in in their own pocket. However, pricing too low can cost you as well and if you don’t really know the market pricing to high will mean your time and advertising dollars could be wasted.
What ever method you choose you need to make sure you are pricing correctly. It is always best to use someone that is familiar with current market values to make sure you get top dollar. Hattler Properties, located in Glenville, NC is a firm with several brokers that are eager to assist you in selling your home. If you would like to find the current market value of your home contact Rick or any of the agents at Hattler Properties.
