Our Strategy for Winning Appraisals

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If you ask any agent what keeps them up at night right now, they'll probably all have the same answer: appraisals. 

In a market like Atlanta where homes are selling for top dollar, appraisals can be a natural roadblock. There's nothing worse than finding out 20 days after your house has gone under contract that the appraiser disagrees with the price that a buyer has agreed to pay for your home. 

However, there's a strategy that we like to use to do everything we can to ensure our clients' homes appraise. 

The first step we take is to meet the appraiser at the house so they can put a name to a face and it gives me the chance to go to bat for you. I also give the appraiser a packet with comparable home sales that support the value of your house and some that might be just under that value because an appraiser will want to see them. This packet is like gold.

We also want to know the story behind each these comparable sales—was it the result of a divorce or a relocation, for example? We want to identify what caused that property to sell for a little bit less than expected. 

The second thing we'll include is a list of improvements you've done to your house in the last five to seven years so that you get full credit for it. Finally, we'll include evidence of all the offers you've received. Since many homes in our area receive multiple offers, I believe this provides more evidence that supports the value of the property. 

We've found that by taking these steps, we rarely have an appraisal problem. If you'd like to learn more about how we avoid appraisal issues or you have any other questions about selling your house, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email today. I'd be glad to help!