What is Appraised Value?

Appraisals provide an objective opinion of value, but it is not an exact science so appraisals may differ.

For buying and selling purposes, appraisals are usually based on market value – what the property could probably sold for. Other types of value include insurance value, replacement value and assessed value for property tax.

Appraised value doesn’t take into account special considerations, like the need to sell rapidly.

Lenders use either the appraised value or the sale price, whichever is less, to determine the amount of the mortgage they will offer.

Tips

It is no secret that the market hit has slowed down. Properties are staying on the market longer and many are selling for less than the asking price. The American Society Appraisars (ASA) advises a seller to research ways to make their homes more marketable.

In the near term, the following things can help a home sell faster:

• Update the paint and carpeting. The best thing you can do to update the look of your house is to give the outside and the inside a fresh coat of paint and to add new carpet. When in doubt, nothing would be better than a fresh coat of white paint.
• Give your house curb appeal: If you are going to spend  any money on the yard or landscaping, work on the front yard. It is more important to buyers that a home looks good from the street. They can always fix up the backyard.
• Clean house. Even if you have to put things in storage, clear your rooms and garage of clutter, knickknacks, etc. Sparse and simple are better than clutter and will make your rooms look larger.