How to Prepare Your Home for an Appraisal

You’ve just signed all of the paperwork for the offer that you were waiting for, or to refinance your loan. Either your lender or the buyers lender will require an appraisal. Once you or the buyer have paid for the appraisal it's time to get ready for the Appraisal. Don't worry, the appraisal inspection is painless. You can expect the appraiser to be at the home for thirty minutes to an hour, normally. Now is your time to shine. Here are are few things you can do to help the process go as smooth as possible.

1-    Create a detailed list of the recent improvements, which should include the following:

        When the improvement was completed

        Cost of the Improvement

        Before and After pictures (if possible)

2- Make sure each room is accessible; the appraiser is required to inspect each room.

3- If there is a crawl space, this area will also have to be made accessible for an FHA appraisal.

4- Give the appraiser room to do their job. Errors are more likely to occur when the appraiser isn't able to concentrate on their inspection.

5- Keep all pets restrained. Even though your pet is friendly, when a stranger to the home invades their territory, sometimes temperments change. The last thing you would want is the appriaiser that is valuing your home to be barked at, bitten, attacked, or even have an alergy to pets.

6- If you live within a development that has a homeowners association have the name and phone number of the contact person available , along with a fee statement.

7- If the appraisal is for an FHA loan, then the area leading to the attic will have to be cleared and made accessible - the appraiser is required to make at least a head and shoulders inspection of the attic area.

8- Walk through each room and straighten up as if you were getting ready for company to visit. Appraisers are normally objective and can look past many things, however, the underwriter reviewing the appraisal photos may feel differently.

9- Complete and unfinished projects-most appraisals are done "as-is", and any projects that haven't been completed, will have to be adjusted for within the appraisal report.

10- A copy of any agreements regarding easements  (shared driveways and/or garages, etc.) should be made available.

The person paying for the appraisal has a right to a copy of it, so ask for it. If you should find any errors or have any concerns, talk with the loan originator if possible. This is hard for borrowers to understand, being that they paid for the appraisal, but the mortgage company is the appraiser's client, and they can't discuss the appraisal with anyone else unless given permission.

(Taken from a blog in activerain by Michael S. Bolton)