Skip to main content

Appraisals, Part Deux (Posted October 26, 2015)

We figured if we threw a little French into the headline of this week’s edition, it would sort of class it up because, let’s face it, the French have given us some of the finer things in life: fine wines, high-end fashion, and hopelessly devoted Jerry Lewis fans.  The world wouldn’t be the same without them.

Three weeks ago, we talked about the Condition Ratings that appraisers use to categorize and support their valuations of homes.  Specifically, we detailed how important it is to read the comps for surrounding homes so you can help your clients realistically price their homes when listing.  We’ve heard back from a lot of you that this has been extremely helpful, so we wanted to revisit the topic of appraisals and give you some more tips that will help you stand out from your peers and impress the daylights out of your clients – we’re talking about upgrades!

Not all upgrades are the same – nor are they worth the same in the eyes of an appraiser.  For example, if your client spent $6K on a brand-new HVAC system two months ago, she’ll be able to get a dollar-for-dollar reflection in the appraisal.  Come on, this is the desert – a new HVAC system is like handing someone a key to Shangri-La and/or Heaven (depending on their philosophical or religious views).  For those clients who are getting ready to put their homes on the market and are considering an HVAC upgrade, if they already have a swamp cooler, give them this advice: definitely install the new HVAC system but keep the swamp cooler, also. 

Another dollar-for-dollar upgrade is a garage.  This applies either to the costs for enclosing a carport or building an entirely new garage onto the property itself.  We’re a car culture, and the appraisers know it.

Here are some other upgrade items that generally fetch consideration from an appraiser in the ballpark of $.30 to $.50 on each dollar spent:

•  Kitchens – no matter how much they love that Viking range or built-in Sub-Zero refrigerator, they need to know they’re only going to get a percentage of their costs in the appraisal
•  Pools – your client may have imported tiles from an Italian monastery and had a pirate ship trucked in from the Bahamas, but they’ll only get so much for them
•  Bathrooms – it’s nice that they can fit the entire family and their three cousins into the bathtub at the same time (kind of weird), but that feature won’t appeal to everyone so the appraisers will only give a percentage
•  Windows – bulletproof, specially glazed, shaped like the silhouette of Jerry Lewis, etc., an appraiser is only concerned about cost of the materials and what percentage they’ll assign


Give us a call about these and other upgrades – we’ll help you look like a rock star!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An Age-Old Concept Reaping Future Rewards

W hy are social media like Facebook and Instagram so darn popular among real estate and mortgage folks?   Hint: the top reason might be an endless supply of memes, cat videos, and the chance to be snarky, but the other reason runs a VERY CLOSE second.   Give up?   Answer:   They’re free – and they really help even the playing field by enabling a one-person shop look and market like an organization who employs an army of wordsmiths and graphic artists. This new century is glorious, right?   With that in mind, let me re-introduce you to a centuries-old concept that is equally glorious – and can help IMPROVE the playing field for you, regardless of the size of your team: karma.   On the subject of “free”, I’m not suggesting that you work for free, but when you freely give of yourself and your knowledge, you’ll see a greater payoff, I promise! Recently, an agent came to us with a question: she has a client who is looking to sell his condo.   It...

KNOWING is Half the . . . Problem

If you’ve learned one thing from reading these columns, it’s this: I don’t read a ton of books by or about the French philosopher Descartes or spend large amounts of money traveling the world to view the Masters’ paintings in far-flung museums – my entertainment and sources of knowledge run to the more . . . mundane, if you will.   Well, I’m not about to disappoint.   In the movie Men in Black , the two main characters J & K (played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, respectively) have recently met and K is trying to recruit J to join the clandestine government agency that monitors aliens on planet Earth.   Agent K has just shown J a lot of things that are hard to believe/explain and urges J to keep them secret.   At this point, J interrupts him, and this piece of dialogue ensues: J: Why the big secret?   People are smart.   They can handle it.   K: A person is smart.   People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you...

An Intergalactic Lack of Knowledge

This past week, word had reached my ears that the federal money available for homebuyers in a certain grant program would run out by April 1 st of this year – despite the date, I’m fairly certain it’s not intended as some cosmic April Fool’s Day joke.   At any rate, a real estate agent that I’ve worked with for many years felt it would be a good idea to make a big deal of this and put together some Facebook and Instagram posts letting potential homebuyers know that time is running out.   No argument here.   Anyone who’s sort of been sitting on the fence about buying a home could use a little nudge, and this might be just what they need.   After I had created the posts and put them out there, I started to think about what will happen once this federal grant does run out.   What will potential homebuyers do who need help coming up with a down payment?   And you know what the next thing was that popped into my head when I asked myself that question...