What Appraisals Mean to Both Buyers and Sellers

How can an appraisal affect the sale of your home? Let's take a look.

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What are appraisals and why are they important? Today I want to answer these questions from both the buyer's and seller's perspective. To start with, what is an appraisal? When you're looking to purchase a home with a mortgage, your mortgage company will want to make sure that the value of the home matches what you're paying for the home. An approved appraiser will come to the home and do an inspection of the place and then compare it to other properties that have sold on the market in that area. As a buyer, how does an appraisal affect you? To answer this question, consider this scenario: If you're buying a home and agreeing with the seller to pay $200,000 and an appraiser decides that the home is only worth $150,000, that's a $50,000 difference. This will make it very difficult for the bank to give you a loan for $200,000 and, as a buyer, you could be asked to pay that difference or you won't be able to get the loan.

"When you're looking to purchase a home with a mortgage, your mortgage company will want to make sure that the value of the home matches what you're paying for the home."

How does an appraisal affect you as a seller? Looking at the same scenario, that buyer may be unable to purchase your home. And, it may mean that other buyers are also unable to purchase your property, so you may need to adjust the sales price of your house entirely.

So, why is an appraisal important? From the very beginning, as a seller, you want to think about the value of your home and how you're pricing it because it could mean whether or not a potential buyer can get the loan to buy it.

If you have any questions about the appraisal process, or if you're interested in buying or selling, please feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to speaking with you soon.