Adrian E. Hirsch is a South Louisiana interviewer, writer, editor, blogger and scriptwriter. She’s covered the region’s unique lifestyle, landmarks, architecture, art, antiques, food, music, pets and healthcare issues for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, New Orleans, Memphis and Gambit magazines among others. Having bought, sold and built homes, she’s survived the whims of the market, contractors, kids, rescued cats and dogs—not to mention hurricanes, erosion and termite invasion. Her real estate reporting aims to help families find the right home and maximize the potential of that major investment.
Jedda Fernandez , Associate Refresh Editor Jedda Fernandez Associate Refresh EditorJedda Fernandez is an associate refresh editor for HomeLight's Resource Centers with more than five years of editorial experience in the real estate industry.
You’re so close to closing. You’ve agreed on price, a move-in date, and a million other tiny details necessary for the buyers to take possession of this property. The only thing that stands between you and a sale is the appraisal.
Get a Home Value Estimate Before Your House Is Appraised
It won’t replace a home appraisal, but HomeLight can provide a free preliminary value of home value in under two minutes. Consider it a starting point.
After being under the microscope at open houses and inspection, you may wonder: What’s the point of this final examination? And what’s it going to take for your home to pass?
Here’s our guide to helping you through the appraisal process.
A home appraisal is an objective assessment of your home value conducted by a licensed, professional appraiser. Appraisers consider all aspects of your home. These typically include:
According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Research Group’s 2023 data, 62% of buyers have conventional loans, 17% have FHA loans and 12% received VA loans.
After you accept an offer, the buyer’s mortgage lender typically contacts a third-party appraisal management company (AMC). A residential home appraiser’s job is to provide a professional opinion of your home’s value so the lender knows that the house is worth at least what the buyer asks to borrow for the purchase.
This protects the lender in case the buyer later defaults on their mortgage and the lender has to foreclose on the property.
“The appraiser is simply a third-party professional who comes to the property to make sure the bank is lending on a property that is actually there, has the size and features (bedrooms, baths, etc.) described, and compares to the values in the area,” explains top Los Angeles agent Keri White, who is also a home loan, title, and escrow specialist.
All states require appraisers to be licensed and certified to provide appraisals for federally certified lenders.
In addition, the Appraisal Institute offers its advanced credentialing for members such as MAI, SRPA, SRA, AI-GRS, and AI-RRS designations in residential real estate.
Since many lenders process a high volume of loans all around the country, local appraisers provide first-hand verification of the property’s condition. “I am the eyes and the ears of the lender,” explains Warren Boizot III, SRA, a state-licensed appraiser with 24 years of experience in Denver, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
To conduct an accurate evaluation, the appraiser will evaluate local comparable sales and conduct an onsite visit of your property to evaluate an array of external and internal factors.
During your home visit, an appraiser evaluates the condition of your home by assessing its upgraded features and materials, its location, the value of other comparable homes in the area, and other factors.
Additionally, lenders often rely on appraisers to make sure the property meets certain minimum requirements. For example, to be eligible for U.S. Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Veterans Administration (VA), and other government-subsidized loans, properties must meet very specific, uniform criteria.
The appraisal is usually the last piece of the loan package to be completed before closing.
So, anything a seller can do to make sure the appraisal goes well contributes to an on-time closing and smooth sale.
In this booming housing market, the turnaround time between appraisal request and report deadline is sometimes less than 30 days. For the sake of time efficiency, many appraisers group appointments by geographic location.
Appraisers realize homeowners are busy, but if a seller is only available on the weekend, “It sure cuts down the amount of time I have to finish that report,” Boizot says.
And it pays to be flexible. Even if a closing delay doesn’t risk the sale, it can be a huge inconvenience, says Richard Helali, mortgage lending expert with HomeLight Home Loans, “Maybe the seller needed the money to close on their other home, or the buyer had already set up the moving truck and now they have to reschedule everything.”
So, rearranging your schedule can save valuable time.
If you’d like to be certain the appraiser has the most up-to-date information to support your listing price, be sure to pull the documentation that led you to determine that figure. Here are a few resources you might want to consult:
Even though appraisers can’t use most information over three months old, a previous appraisal, blueprints, or a sketch is evergreen. And while the appraisers definitely take their own measurements, the documents can provide a benchmark as well as valuable zoning information and other details.
Also, because the appraiser is looking to document features that add value, a list of itemized upgrades including the dates and materials contributes to an accurate appraisal.
For example, “It can be hard to tell the difference between quartz and quartzite countertops (a man-made, less expensive stone) just by looking,” says Megan Suarez, a Regions Bank mortgage loan officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Without a list, the appraiser might not notice.”
Believe it or not, the cost of materials is usually immaterial. That’s because “You can’t always expect to get dollar-in for dollar-out,” Suarez says. For example, a landscaped pool may cost $50,000 to $80,000 but only add $10,000 to $20,000 to the value of the house based on the neighborhood.
However, Boizot says, “Don’t forget to include the non-glamorous but just as valuable upgrades such as roofs, water heater, furnaces, photovoltaic solar systems.”
Other relevant paperwork or digital documents include:
“The appraisal is really about the value of your house — not about repairs,” says White. “However, we advise sellers to make repairs before the appraisal comes to avoid having the appraiser come back.”
Since White knows the issues commonly flagged by appraisers, she goes on a walkthrough with each client and proactively recommends they repair peeling paint; chipping or damaged roof tiles; structural or foundation issues resulting in cracks along the stucco, walls, or elsewhere; plumbing issues indicating leaks or a broken pipe; exposed wiring; missing or damaged outlet plates; rotting wood; missing major appliances; faulty doors and locks; and the source of moisture problems and any related stains.
And while most of these problems alone aren’t a major issue, what appraisers are really looking for is a pattern of neglect. “If I go into a house and there’s a broken window or missing outlet covers [and] the agent hasn’t thought that’s important to fix it for the showings,” Boizot says, “I wonder: What else have they neglected?”
If you don’t have to complete or even begin a repair before the appraiser arrives, it’s helpful for the seller to provide an estimate of what it will cost to cure. That way, the appraiser can proceed as if the roof were fixed and deduct the cost. Otherwise, the appraiser may note the home needs a structural engineer or estimate a different cost. If the seller provides a $2,000 bid, they may preempt an appraiser’s $20,000 estimate to fix the same problem.
During their short visit, appraisers have a lot of ground to cover. That includes the crawl space under the house, basement, and the attic. Sometimes the entrances to those areas are in closets or covered by overgrown bushes.
“Many lenders want a picture of the access to the crawl space or attic, which might be under a beautiful display of shoes in the primary closet,” says Boizot. “If you’ve cleared that area, it’s super helpful because then I don’t have to move your personal items.”
You don’t have candles and cookies. But you want it to look like it’s valued at top dollar.
