When Selling A Property

If you are planning to sell your property you can do it two ways: do it yourself, or hire a Real Estate Agent. No mater which method you choose, it will be a wise decision to make a small investment in a professional appraisal for the following reasons:

Many people might be surprised to discover that the market value of their property could be higher than they first thought. Investing in a professional appraisal actually allows people to price their property accordingly, and to collect more money at closing.

Some people may have an inflated opinion of their property’s value, and an appraisal will help them realistically price their property in order for it to sell. An overpriced property will not attract buyers which means no offers and no closing. In addition, you will waste valuable time, money, and effort.

If you decide to hire a real estate agent, more than likely he/she will provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) which lists selected sales in your area as one of the first steps in determining what to set as the “Listing Price". This step is vital if you're going to maximize your profit and minimize the home’s time on the market. However, even if you're working with the most experienced real estate agent, his/her appraisal education may be limited. The agent’s legal duties to you, the seller, are limited to dealing with you honestly and fairly, accounting for all funds, using skill, care and diligence, presenting all offers in a timely manner and disclosing all known material facts about the property. None of these legal duties will protect you when the property’s listing price is set too high or too low. The main objective of the Real Estate Agent is to get you to list the property with him/her. If the listing price is set too high and the property is not selling, you will be asked to lower your asking price but the Real Estate Agent will not be required to lower his/her fees! If the property listing price set too low and the property sold very quickly, your agent will still be happy with his/her commision earned without any effort, but you, the seller, just left a lot of money on the table because you sold your property too low.

The seller of a property may want to order an appraisal before listing the property. Of course, the cost of the appraisal is always a deterrent, but It is your best interest to have an objective third-party's opinion of value prior to signing any Listing Agreement. This will allow both you and your agent to have a reliable and accurate way to set a realistic selling price and your home will attract buyers. In addition a professional appraisal can:

• Be a very valuable negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer
• Impress buyer’s with written proof of your home’s condition inside and out
• Make you aware of problems and eliminate last-minute hassles that might delay or prevent a closing

Appraisal is not about how much you have invested in your home, how much you paid for it, or how much you want for it. Appraisal is about the true current market value of your home. A Professional Appraiser is objective, trained and experienced and will tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear.

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Our Appraisals reports are Reviewed, Audited and co-signed by ValueCorps Appraisal Services