3 Tips for Selecting a Residential Real Estate Appraiser

Choosing a residential real estate appraisal firm to handle your sensitive information is a crucial decision. When working with a third-party, it is essential that the real estate valuation services offered are accurate, reliable, and most important - credible. A biased or erroneous report can damage your reputation, setback your success, and result in missed opportunities. 

Here are some helpful tips for selecting credible real estate valuation services for your home:

1)  Local market experience

It is vital that your appraiser has years of experience in working in the market related to your property. Each city or neighborhood is unique and has social and economic factors that can differ significantly in each vicinity. If your New York property appraiser is skilled with local market knowledge, you can be sure that your appraisal report will be credible. When the valuation firm does not have access to complete property data, are less experienced, or not skilled in interpreting complex data sets, your appraisal process will be significantly compromised. So, ensure that you choose a local  New York property appraiser to conduct your residential appraisal.

2) Positive reputation

Before finalizing your appraiser, ensure that you garner honest feedback of the past clients to understand how their experience was and how the firm treats its customers and conducts its business. You can also go through online reviews such as yelp.com and go through the testimonials.  Asking referrals from friends and family if they have enlisted the services of the firm you are thinking of hiring can also help you to decide.

3) Accuracy

The most important aspect to consider is the accuracy of their work. In addition to seeking their references, you can ask for a sample report to get a fair idea of their level of work, and the quality of their adjustments and comments. However, if you take a leap of faith and decide to hire the services, do not hesitate to carefully evaluate each point of the report for the level of diligence and accuracy. You can also hire a third-party for reviewing the efficiency and helping you to judge the accuracy of your report.

Making a choice

If you take time to ask detailed questions, carefully review your first reports, and check diligently on referrals, you can be sure of making a right choice.

What are some of the best ways to improve the value of your property?

Commercial property appraisals are conducted to find out the value of your commercial space or home when is up for selling or for refinancing. Performed by professional New York property appraisers, the final figure of your property may be much higher than the original price or much lower than the value of your home as is seen in times of real-estate slumps.

So, what can you do to do to ensure a high appraisal value of your property? Here are some tips for you.

Spruce up your property

Declutter, touch up the paint and make minor changes to spruce up your home or office before the process of commercial property appraisal begins. Beautify your yards by trimming your trees and tearing out any dead bushes - it helps to create a larger space. Garbage, dirt, and strange odors are not attractive features, make sure that you address them before the visit of your New York property appraiser. Outdoor lights, strategically placed flower-plants, and a new mailbox make your property more inviting. These low-cost tips are perhaps the easiest way to increase the value of your property.

Highlight major improvements

If you have made any significant improvement to your property, ensure that your New York property appraiser knows about it. For example, a new carpet, double pane windows, and door to cancel noise, updated siding  - which is harder to notice, but can dramatically boost your home appraisal.  A detailed spreadsheet stating what was spent on each restoration project along with before and after photos can persuade your appraiser to give a higher value to your property.

Go Green

A big plus in the value of your home is going green. Whenever you are furnishing your home, ensure that you add appliances that are environmentally friendly. Anything you can do to conserve energy will add more savings to your property than its cost, making it a big plus in the eyes of your appraiser.

Developments in your town or neighborhood

If there are new exciting developments in your city or neighborhood, ensure that your property appraiser knows about that. Modern, upscale restaurants, a better and a bigger park, or a new community center can boost the price of your property.

Conclusion:

Remember, to do what you can to receive a better value for your property. But, it is not smart to over-invest in the renovation that you probably would not recover.