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Disagree on the realtor part. Worthless in a transaction if you are a competent adult.
Beyond that the primary things to do are document improvements from after you bought it and gather info on comps. I don’t mean the stuff realtors can gather… I mean like if you can give the appraiser info on the inside condition of a comp or if say it was sold to a friend and the price was low due to that. Really any mitigating factors of other sales that won’t show up in MLS.
SPM1… I’ve sold two houses without realtors. Both times I had a 20 minute convo with the appraiser going over details of our upgrades and factors about comps.
Not sure what your experience is but I can say for a fact it isn’t accurate all the time.
Which appraisal process?
If ordered by the buyer -They don’t even go inside. There’s nothing you can do. Maybe a little more curb appeal at most. They are effectively confirming that the house has no major red flags and rely mainly on the data that they already have in their system.
If prepping to sell and looking to Appraiser for list price, then I would just go through ChatGPT on recommendations
Subject Expert
Is this for a refi or for a transaction?
Document any improvements, clean it well, declutter it, and let the appraiser do their job.
Your realtor should be able to pull comps. It’s better if they handle the communication around that as homeowners aren’t considered professionals for valuation purposes.
Appraisers don’t care about clean or clutter. They care about the physical condition of the building and any improvements you’ve made. Decorating (paint, flooring, bathroom tile, etc.) doesn’t count. Appliances, energy efficiency upgrades, updates to the roof, windows, doors, HVAC, kitchen cabinets, and other “attached” features count. Make sure your realtors knows about all major renovation work you’ve done and how much it cost so they can pass along that info to the appraiser.