Should I get an appraisal on my home?

Recently, I was asked this question: We are planning to put our home up for sale and are interested in getting an appraisal so we understand what our home is really worth.  Can we talk to you and understand if this is a good thing for us to do?

My Response:  I think it is a very good idea to have an appraisal from a qualified and experienced appraiser to help guide you on your pricing strategy.  Through the years, I have done many appraisals for both buyers to help establish an offering price, as well as sellers to help set their asking price.  I also often work with Realtors who are working with their clients and want an independent opinion, from a disinterested third party.

I have over 20 years of experience in residential appraising in your market area.  Because my business specializes in corporate relocation appraising, my clients hire me for my accuracy, as I am asked to predict what a home will sell for and eventually after it does sell, my accuracy is tracked.  I receive repeat business from those clients because of my accuracy.  This experience leads to accurate appraisals that homeowners, lawyers and lenders can rely on. 

My process would include viewing your property's interior/exterior, gathering information on your home's size, features and condition.  I will be asking you of any improvements that you may have done to your property since you have lived there.  You can expect that portion to take about an hour.  My final appraisal report would be a thorough analysis of your home, suggesting potential improvements that may help marketability and/or the value.  It would include analyzing the market, giving you a thorough picture of properties in your market area.  I maintain specific statistics throughout Chicagoland (found at http://www.wagnerappraisal.com/report.asp) and incorporate this data into my reports.  I am the only appraiser that I know of in this area that collects this data in-house, and trends it to help measure the changes in the local real estate market.  Others use various resources but I do this internally.  I supply closed sales in my report, as well as current listings and properties that are under contract, as they all have an impact your home's value.

My fee for this service is based on the time it takes me to complete this process (please call or e-mail for a quote), and it typically takes me 5 business days to return my report after the inspection.  An appraisal is an opinion, and the opinion is based on the experience and qualifications of the appraiser.  In my industry, you will find many different people with various levels of experience and qualifications.  They will also quote many different prices for their service.  A couple of hundred dollars may make a difference of thousands of dollars in your bank account.  Your goal is to establish a fair price to minimize your market time to a reasonable amount.  Underpricing or overpricing is not beneficial to you, especially in this market.  View My Bio for my basic qualifications and a full resume is available upon request.

Contact Chip Wagner at chip@wagnerappraisal.com or (630) 416-6556 for a quote.