SELLING ON YOUR OWN?

What’s the best way to lose money when you are selling your own house?

Simple- if you overprice or under price your house you could be losing valuable equity. Studies have shown that houses that are initially overpriced tend to be on the market longer and ultimately sell at a price less than their market value, on average. That’s why it isn’t customary for real estate agents to simply overprice a house and slowly bring the price down over time. They’ve learned that overpricing a house is the best way to dramatically increase marketing times and ultimately end up getting less money anyway.

If you ask too little then you are obviously throwing money away. The cost of a professional appraisal is very low as compared to the risk of improperly pricing your house.

Why might you need an appraisal by a certified appraiser?

I am trained to develop an opinion of market value that takes into account local market factors. So while you might have a rough idea of what your house may be worth, I can refine if even further. My fee for an appraisal is very negligible when compared to the value of your house. So save on real estate commission, but do yourself a favor and get professional valuation advice.

What does Appraisal Services provide when I order an appraisal?

I provide you with a full appraisal that shows my opinion of market value based upon recent sales in your market. Most appraisals are based upon this sort of historical data because it’s the best data that anyone has. But to really determine a competitive asking price for your house, you’ll also need to consider your competition. So besides providing you with a full appraisal I also supply you with MLS printouts of competitive properties currently on the market.

The full appraisal shows you the market value according to what buyers have recently paid for similar houses, and the MLS data of competitive houses allows you to fine tune your asking price. I also provide marketing recommendations for your house. I let you know what repairs, if any, that I’d recommend and what features of your house should be highlighted in your marketing materials. Finally, I give you an estimate of marketing time based upon sales of similar houses so that you can get some idea of how long your house should be on the market for.

What special skills are most helpful to someone selling their own house?

I have expertise in determining the market’s reaction to special problems with housing. For instance, if your house is unusual in some way or needs a lot of repairs I can estimate the market’s reaction to those problems so that you can price your house properly. I also analyze external factors such as your house’s proximity to any adverse factors such as large power lines, busy roads, sewer plants, etc. There are a lot of situations that require special expertise and I work with homeowners all the time with those sorts of problems. Call me before you price your house to save yourself a lot of headaches later.

What can an appraiser do that a real estate agent can’t?

Appraisers are much more skilled at estimating market value and especially dealing with difficult valuation problems if some aspect of your house is unusual. Real estate agents receive very little appraisal training as part of their licensure requirements. In fact, the exposure they do get is only a very brief introduction. The vast majority of real estate agents/brokers have no detailed training whatsoever in the appraisal process and most learn ‘on the job.’ That’s not meant as a criticism but just as a reality that you should be aware of.

Also, as a State Certified Real Estate Appraiser I adhere to a set of standards known as USPAP which entails hundreds of pages of standards and ethics. I am required by law to be objective, impartial, independent, and to act without accommodation of personal interest. Real estate agents have their own interest which is to list your house. Therefore, when they give you their opinion of value it isn’t without consideration of their goal of listing your house. Again, that’s not meant as a criticism of agents and brokers, but is meant to make you aware that their opinion is certainly not unbiased.

I also am bound by law to various confidentiality provisions so that your confidential information is not disclosed.

Finally, I maintain a real estate broker’s license and real estate broker corporation license but no longer actively engaging in brokerage services. So don’t worry, I have no interest whatsoever in listing your house- in fact, I wouldn’t even if you offered. But my active licensure allows for participation in the real estate community and allows me to routinely tour available housing on the market so that I’m especially aware of the housing in various markets.

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