Nicola Kelland - Property Appraisal

You may be getting a property appraisal or a registered valuation for several reasons. To establish replacement value for Insurance, to re-finance your property, when you are about to sell or buy, or a purchaser is requesting a valuation of your home. Obviously, you want to ensure that the valuation or appraisal is an accurate representation of your property and of its value. So, when the time comes for a real estate salesperson or a valuer to visit the property here are some tips on how you can assist on the day to maximise its value.

I suggest you are on-site when they visit, you don’t need to follow them around and point out everything that is obvious, like “here is the kitchen and this is the bathroom”, but be available to answer any questions they may have, or point out any hidden aspects of the property that they could easily miss.

If you have the floor plans, these could be very helpful, so have a set available that they could take away with them if required.

If you have recently updated some rooms or the entire house, then point out these areas and give them a list of some of the special finishes you may have used. For example, the kitchen bench material, bespoke built-in cabinetry, lighting features or any expensive or unique finishes. Include the details of any designer or architect you may have employed, it all helps.

Other improvements to highlight are the ones that are not obvious or maybe not visible, such as heating systems, home automation, solar power, ventilation systems or water systems, like irrigation or house filtration systems. These are all features that have been installed at additional cost and which should be included in the valuation or appraisal.

If a purchaser is wanting a valuation for a property, it is common for the salesperson or agent to meet the valuer on site and conduct the inspection on behalf of the vendor. I find it is helpful in this situation, if the agent provides the valuer with a copy of the marketing information, floor plans if they are available, recent sales evidence and convey the homes special attributes as if it was their own.

You may be considering using an online or curb side valuation or appraisal. There has certainly been an upsurge in companies offering these. While they may be fine as a general guide, it will not replace the accuracy of an onsite visit. Like council CV’s some of these online reports are accurate, and others are way off the potential sale price. It will take up more of your time for an onsite appraisal from a real estate agent and cost you more if you use a registered valuer. But is this a shortcut that you want to take, with what maybe your largest asset?

When I appraise a property, it is vital that I receive as much detail on the property as possible, so that when the time comes to market and sell the property I can convey that information to the prospective purchaser to fully highlight the properties benefits and unique features.

If you are wanting some real estate advice please do feel free to contact me I would be more than happy to help.