How to Get Your House Appraised in 7 Steps

Why get a house appraised?

A home appraisal is required or just plain useful in various scenarios. Let’s quickly look at some of the most common situations that may warrant an appraisal.

You plan to list your home soon

Sometimes, a pre-listing real estate appraisal is a helpful tool or supplement to a seller’s pricing strategy. For homes with unique features — like a detached in-law suite, tennis court, generator, solar roof panels, or even a basement bowling alley — it can be tougher to predict how the market will react. And you’re unlikely to find recent sales of properties with those same characteristics as a benchmark.

Home appraisers are expertly trained to assess the value of real estate properties. The members of the Appraisal Institute, a global professional organization, have met rigorous educational, testing, and experience requirements to earn their certifications, which means homeowners can rely on these professionals’ property evaluations.

That said, an appraisal typically costs between $300 and $500 (sometimes more in high-priced markets), so sellers must consider whether the cost is worth it.

A pre-listing appraisal isn’t always necessary to sell your home, and getting one doesn’t mean that a buyer’s lender won’t require a separate and independent appraisal before closing.

In addition, your real estate agent will help price your home using a comparative market analysis (CMA), a report that takes into account similar recently sold properties in your area. An agent’s CMA is usually free as part of their listing services.

You’re selling due to special circumstances

If you’re splitting up or selling property during a divorce, you’ll likely need to determine the value of any jointly owned real estate as part of the settlement. An appraisal may also give you and your former spouse a better idea of whether one person can afford to buy out the other’s share in the home or if it should be sold.

Divorce isn’t the only special circumstance that may require an appraisal. You might need one for a home you inherited with your siblings or if you have multiple owners selling a vacation home, for example.

You want to refinance

To refinance your home, your lender will require a new appraisal to determine its current market value. This helps them calculate your equity, which is the difference between the property’s market value and the amount you still owe on your mortgage(s), including any unpaid liens.

These figures factor into your refinance eligibility, insurance requirements, interest rates, and ability to qualify for a cash-out refinance.

You’ve made home improvements (or plan to)

If you’ve made significant upgrades to your home, such as remodeling the kitchen or bathrooms, an appraisal can accurately assess the property’s post-renovation value. If you haven’t renovated your home yet but plan to in the future, an appraisal can help you pinpoint improvements that will yield the biggest return on your investment. Review our list of what hurts a home appraisal to know the top home characteristics that may reduce property value.

Steps to get a home appraisal

1. Start with a free online home value estimate

No online home value estimator tool will be a substitute for a home appraisal, but a quick online price check can be a helpful starting point to orient yourself in the process.

2. Find a reputable appraiser

You should hire a licensed and certified residential appraiser with experience appraising properties in your area. Here’s how to find one.

Check with your lender

In the case of a refinance or mortgage loan, the lender will hire an appraisal through an appraisal management company (AMC). These companies provide third-party, outsourced appraisal contractors who are not affiliated with the lender or borrower. Although the lender arranges for the appraisal through the AMC, it is usually the responsibility of the person refinancing or borrowing money to pay for the appraisal fees.

Search online

Need to find your own appraiser? You can find one online. Check out the Appraisal Institute, a global organization for home appraisers that promotes high professional standards. Use its Find an Appraiser tool to search for an appraiser by designation, company, state, and ZIP code.

Get a referral

Ask friends, neighbors, coworkers, a local real estate agent, or others in your network for a referral. “Most of my clients are referrals,” says John Grichine, chief appraiser at Northstar Appraiser in Orange County, California. The best sources of referrals, he shares, are often friends and colleagues who have recently had their homes appraised, and real estate agents with experience in the area where the home is located.

Choose a local expert

No matter what route you take to find an appraiser, it’s critical to pick someone with deep knowledge of the area’s homes and price trends.

“You want someone who really understands the local market and what’s going on in your town,” says Eric Schuell, a leading real estate agent serving the New Haven, Connecticut area.

He recently had a client who hired someone from Hartford to appraise a home in Milford. Although the two cities are less than an hour’s drive from each other, the appraiser lacked in-depth knowledge of the neighborhood and came up with a low value.

Ask the right questions

You can ask home appraiser candidates about their professional designations, whether they are licensed or certified in their state, and how long they have been in the business.

You will want to follow up by doing your own check on the appraiser’s license and credentials, which you can do through your state’s licensing agency. Most state agencies will verify in writing that an appraiser is currently in good standing, which also may disclose any disciplinary actions taken against them.

Never hesitate to ask the appraiser about their experience, especially in specialized situations such as an appraisal process during a divorce or to verify assets. You should also ask about an appraiser’s experience with properties precisely like yours in style, age, and layout, such as split levels, bungalows, historical homes, and so on.

3. Get ready for the appraisers’ visit

Appraisers are trained to see beyond clutter and dirty dishes in the sink. So don’t stress if your house isn’t immaculate. That said, a little sweat equity and a couple of weekends’ worth of work can help to improve your home’s appraised value.

If time allows, consider tackling the following items before the appraiser’s visit:

Make minor repairs

There’s a section on the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, the standardized form that helps appraisers evaluate a property based on its characteristics, to note where a home has “needed repairs… renovations, or remodeling.” Even if you plan to do nothing about cosmetic eyesores, address any broken items or fixtures, such as a leaking toilet, cracked floors, or missing door handles, as well as any issues that could pose a danger, if possible.

“Take care of things like broken windows, chipped paint, safety hazards like loose stair railings, and any FHA-stipulated items,” recommends Schuell. He says safety hazards that haven’t been repaired can raise red flags for an appraiser who might walk out and ask you to reschedule when the problems have been fixed.

Review HomeLight’s list of required appraisal repairs for additional guidance.

Improve curb appeal

A recent survey by NAR found that 92% of realtors recommend improving curb appeal before listing a home for sale. Among those who recommended tackling an outdoor project, 74% said to focus on landscape maintenance, 53% said to invest in standard lawn care services, and 44% said to address tree care.

You can’t necessarily price curb appeal using quantitative appraisal methods, but appraisers do take it into account qualitatively when reconciling that final value.

Got time? Invest in high-ROI projects

If you’re getting an appraisal to sell your home down the line, you may want to consider upgrades and renovations that will add substantial appraised value to your property. An example Grichine suggests to sellers in warmer climates is air conditioning.

“In an area like Palm Springs, lack of air conditioning will hurt marketability,” he shares.

And if your home hasn’t had a makeover since the Clinton administration, consider a new look: countertops, flooring, and cabinets are all things you can spruce up for a high ROI.

4. Gather relevant documents

You’ve refreshed your home, made essential repairs, and scheduled an appointment with your appraiser. Now, it’s time to gather key documents that will help the appraiser come up with an accurate assessment of your property’s value. Be sure to have documentation of all home improvements made to the property over the past 10 to 15 years on hand, including remodels, upgrades, and new additions.

If you’re ambitious enough to research your house comps, feel free to share your findings with the appraiser. Just make sure the comps you select are similar in size, location, and characteristics to your own home.

5. Make final preparations for the onsite visit

It’s a few days before the appraiser’s visit (or the day of, if you’re a last-minute kind of person). Be sure to handle the following tasks before they show up:

Deep clean and declutter

As we stressed earlier, appraisers aren’t going to mark you down for a messy space. But it’s still wise to spend a few hours deep-cleaning and decluttering the house, particularly the visible portions like floors and countertops. Vacuum, give kitchens and bathrooms a once-over, and wipe surfaces of any dust and grime. This step is especially important if you haven’t regularly lived in the property over the past few months.

Provide easy access to all areas of the home

It’s not uncommon for residents to block entry to a basement or attic, especially if children or pets are present, but every room of the house should be easily accessible. Make sure the appraiser can move around, take measurements and photos, and check off all of the details easily.

Secure or remove pets

Keep pets out of the way. Put cats in a carrier and either crate dogs or take them out for a walk. Always let the appraiser know that they’ll be entering a house with a pet, says Grichine, adding that he likes dogs, but appreciates a warning.

Feel free to stay

Homeowners are welcome to be home for the appraisal and make sure the appraiser has access to what they need. It can be helpful to have someone there to answer questions or fill in information gaps, though you don’t need to follow the appraiser around the house.

Chatting up a storm could also cause the appraisal process to take longer than it needs to, and you don’t want to overwhelm the appraiser with a hard sell of what you believe your home to be worth.

If you’re working with a real estate agent, it’s customary for the agent to attend the appraisal and optional for the seller to do so. An agent will have more experience in these scenarios and can assist. If no one can attend the on-site visit, be sure to leave your list of upgrades and any other relevant materials in a visible place.

6. Pay the appraisal fee

The price of a full appraisal varies according to location, but you can generally expect to pay between $300 and $500. For example, according to data from the World Population Review, appraisals cost typically more in the Pacific Northwest (or really, anywhere out West) than in the South. Some of the most expensive markets to get an appraisal include:

• Alaska ($900–$1,300)
• Hawaii ($900)
• Montana ($875–$1,000)
• Washington ($850)
• Oregon ($825–$1,000)

7. Review the appraisal report

If a client is working with an agent, the appraisal and report will usually go directly to them rather than the homeowner, says Grichine, adding that customers rarely look at his actual report.

If you are the one to receive the report, the appraised value of your home will likely be listed in a section labeled “Reconciliation” on the appraisal report. Look for the bolded text that reads:

“Based on a complete visual inspection of the interior and exterior areas of the subject property, defined scope of the work, statement of assumptions and limiting conditions, and appraiser’s certification, my (our) opinion of the market value, as defined, of the real property that is the subject of this report is $_______, as of ________, which is the date of inspection and the effective date of this appraisal.”

It’s there (boxed in red below) that you’ll find what the appraiser has determined your home to be worth. Learn more about how professionals come up with figures by checking our explainer on the anatomy of a home appraisal report.

Source: Fannie Mae

Your appraisal is complete – what’s next?

You’ve reviewed your appraisal report, and you’re a happy camper. Or maybe you’re not. Read on to learn what happens after appraisal completion.

You are satisfied with the appraisal

In this situation, you’re pleased with the dollar value the appraiser came up with for your home. This doesn’t always mean that the number meets or exceeds your expectations — in some instances, the client wants the dollar figure to be low, says Grichine. For example, if the assessment was done primarily to determine taxes on the property, the client would want a lower figure, he says.

If you are selling your home, reach out to your real estate agent and talk through the next steps. They will want to kick off the house’s pre-listing plan and do the groundwork for selling the house.

You are dissatisfied with the appraisal

If you’re unhappy with the results of your appraisal, you can submit what’s called a reconsideration of value, but your chances of success with this route are low. You’ll likely need to show that your home’s condition or quality was undervalued in a substantial way or introduce new comps to prove your case.

That said, appraisers rarely change their original opinion of value unless they make a material error. This can happen, as was the case for one real estate agent who noticed that an appraiser had listed her client’s three-bedroom house as a two-bedroom on the report. But it’s rare.

According to Mike Ford, a longtime certified general appraiser in Southern California, an appraiser can back up their opinion of value around 85% to 90% of the time. He shares that often appraisers prove the new comparables proposed by the agent are not similar enough to the property to use.

Get a Free Home Value Estimate

Enter a few details about your home, and we’ll provide you with a preliminary estimate of value in less than two minutes. This won’t replace a comparative market analysis (CMA) or home appraisal, but it can be a helpful starting point.

Request Estimate

Ready to get your house appraised?

Maybe you inherited a property with your siblings and are arranging for a sale or buyout. Or perhaps you’re ready to list your home, but after 20 years of ownership and several renovations, you wouldn’t begin to guess how to price it nowadays. You should now have a good idea of how to get a house appraisal if you need one.

If you want a quick ballpark idea of your home’s value, you can always input your address into a Home Value Estimator for a fast and near-instant check as a starting point.

Remember to contact a licensed and certified appraiser who knows the area well. If you’re borrowing money or refinancing, skip this step; the lender will arrange for a third-party appraiser.

Improve your curb appeal and fix broken items around the house before the appraiser’s visit, and be sure to have a list of upgrades at the ready.

Expect to pay a few hundred dollars for the appraisal, a cost that will vary depending on where you live, the size of your home, and other factors.

If you also need a real estate agent, HomeLight would be happy to connect you with a few top-rated appraisal real estate agents in your area.

We hope your appraisal goes smoothly!

Header Image Source: (Steven Ungermann/Unsplash)