Should You Get an Appraisal before Putting Your House on the Market?

We all want to maximize all of our sales and purchases. That’s why working with real estate agencies NJ is highly recommended if you’re putting your home on the market.

In an effort to further boost your potential profits, you may also consider hiring an appraiser. You figure that hiring an appraiser will be good for your listing. Their input will undoubtedly be helpful.

However, you may want to hold off on your search for an appraiser. That may seem strange, but there are genuine reasons to avoid them at this point. Let’s examine those reasons at length in this article.

What Is a Home Appraiser?

Before discussing why hiring an appraiser may not be a good idea for sellers, let’s first discuss who they are.

Home appraisers are licensed or certified professionals tasked with evaluating property value. Appraisers create value reports. Those value reports are put together based on the characteristics of the home, comparisons to similar properties, in-person inspections, and numerous other factors.

An appraiser must also be completely impartial. They cannot allow biases to affect their valuation of a specific property.

Lenders are typically the ones that require home appraisals. They will ask a buyer to pay for an appraisal before approving a loan.

If you’re selling your home, working with an appraiser is not required. Partnering with real estate agencies in NJ is good enough.

Why You Shouldn’t Get an Appraisal Before Selling Your Home

An appraisal is important if you’re buying a home. Is that still the case if you’re selling a home?

Experts note that appraising your home prior to selling is not necessary. Many have even said that it’s simply not a good idea.

The reasons detailed below explain why you shouldn’t get an appraisal before selling your home.

Paying for the Home Appraisal Is Not Your Responsibility

The first reason why you don’t need a home appraisal before selling is because it’s not your responsibility.

A home appraisal will be needed at some point in the buying process. However, you are not the one who has to pay for it.

The buyer is the one who will be responsible for the home appraisal. Leave the matter of the home appraisal up to them.

Lenders aren’t keen on just handing out loans without getting the full picture first. They want to know how much the property is worth from an unbiased source. That’s why they require loan seekers to hire an appraiser first.

As the seller, you can stick to just working with real estate agencies NJ. Let the buyer be the one who has to worry about the appraisal.

You May Be Wasting Money by Paying for an Appraisal

We’ve established that lenders are the ones who require appraisals. They want an impartial valuation of the property so they want an appraiser involved.

The keyword there is impartial.

Let’s say that you already hired an appraiser. The appraiser did their job properly and produced a value report.

When the buyer approaches you to discuss the matter of appraisal, you tell them that it’s already settled. You already had someone evaluate your property so the buyer can just use their report.

In that scenario, you shouldn’t be surprised if the lender declines to use your appraiser’s report.

The lender may already have an appraiser they trust. They want the appraisal done by someone they’re familiar with because they know they will be unbiased. They likely do not have that same level of confidence in your appraiser.

Since the lender has no obligation to accept your appraiser’s value report, you could end up just wasting your money by hiring one in the first place. Stick to working with real estate agencies NJ. Their assistance will always be helpful throughout the selling process.

The Appraiser’s Value Report May Contain Mistakes

Appraisers study for a long time and undergo training to become licensed or certified professionals. They work hard for their credentials so their opinions definitely carry weight.

Still, appraisers are just like every other working professional. That means they are susceptible to making mistakes from time to time.

An appraiser may develop their own way of determining a home’s value. They have used that approach for so long that they see no reason to deviate from it.

The problem is no one approach works on all properties. Your appraiser’s approach may not work for your home. Because of that, the valuation they provide is way lower than what you expected.

Inexperienced appraisers are especially susceptible to making mistakes.

If an appraiser is unfamiliar with your area, they may price your home lower than the other properties there while disregarding the obvious similarities. They may also not be aware of your property’s special qualities. Failing to account for those factors will lead to your home being valued incorrectly.

Mistakes happen and you can understand that. Even so, you cannot tolerate them. After all, those mistakes could cost you thousands of dollars when you eventually sell your home.

Maximize your sale by working with real estate agencies in NJ instead.

Your Appraiser’s Value Report Could Complicate the Selling Process

Lastly, hiring an appraiser could just complicate the process of selling your home.

The appraiser you hired may offer a valuation that’s lower than what you expected. It may even be lower than what the buyer’s appraiser determined.

The lender may insist on using your valuation now. If that happens, you could miss out on larger profits.

It’s hard to see the upside in enlisting the help of an appraiser if you’re selling your home. They can give you an estimate of your home’s value, but they may also complicate matters significantly.

We understand that you want to know your home’s value, but you don’t need an appraiser for that. Real estate agencies in NJ can provide you with that valuation. You can also expect the valuation they provide to be highly accurate.

As a seller, you should know that hiring a home appraiser is a risky move. In all likelihood, you will just waste money by hiring one.

You can learn every important detail about your property by working with real estate agencies NJ. Count on them to provide the crucial information you need before you move forward with the sale.