Once you’ve accepted an offer on your home, you may be tempted to celebrate. But not so fast! There are a few steps between the offer and a successful close—and if the buyers are buying the house with a mortgage, one of those steps is an appraisal.
So, as a seller, the question is—what do you need to do to prepare for the appraisal?
A recent article from realtor.com outlined key steps seller’s need to take to get ready for an appraisal, including:
- Get your home maintenance up to date. You’ll want to take care of any home maintenance tasks before your appraisal; otherwise, it could impact your home’s appraisal value.
- Give your entire home a deep clean. In order to have the best appraisal process possible, you need to put your home’s best foot forward—and that means doing a thorough cleaning and decluttering of the entire house right before the appraisal.
- Create a list of home upgrades. If you’ve made any changes or upgrades to the house over the past 10 years, you’ll want to compile them in a list (known as a highlight sheet) to give to the appraiser; that way, they can easily see the value you’ve added to your home—and appraise accordingly.