I am about to have a home appraised, that needs some work in areas such as doors and gutters. What do appraisers look for in a home that add to or subtract from it's value?
Does something as simple as adding an insulated garage door as opposed to non-insulated, make much difference? Does the appearance of the yard count much? Open for all answers and SUGGESTIONS!!

Thank you for your time.

Hello Gizzo,

I'm not a real estate pro by any stretch, but I've been on both sides of a home transaction a few times. With that in mind, here's my opinion.

I doubt the appraisal will consider whether a garage door is insulated--or other 'minor' things. (Even though you, as a buyer, might be very interested in the home's insulation, comfort and heating costs.)

It WILL consider the house as it pertains to the NEIGHBORHOOD. Cost per Sq/Ft is kind of a standard (if somewhat flawed) measure of comparison.

It will consider the overall condition of the house in several factors--such as construction quality, etc. I believe the condition of the yard could make a difference.

About the condition of the yard and appearance of the house--I'd rather buy a house with a bad yard in a neighborhood of well-kept yards--than the other way around!

--->> But keep in mind that an appraisal is only an educated guess. Bottom line, a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Best of luck,
-k2

(unfortunately, we can't edit our posts, so I add this):

When I say, it will consider the house as it relates to the neighborhood--the big thing here is recent "comparable" sales.

They try to find nearby houses that have sold recently and for how much.

Sometimes this is easier said than done and they have to look ****her afield. Other times it can be pretty straightforward. But again, you see how big a factor the NEIGHBORHOOD is in the equation.

Good luck,
-k2

Why are you getting an appraisal done and worried about fixing up the house? You must be refinancing or selling by owner perhaps. If you are selling I would not put anything into this house that you don't have to. The people buying won't buy it because it has an insulated garage door as opposed to uninsulated. And if the present garage door looks half way decent I might not worry about it either. The one way I would worry about it is if that's the first thing they see in your driveway and it looks bad. What about a coat of paint.

I guess I should have waited for your response to why you're having an appraisal.

Devildog

It is a unique situation. The home is my father's. I have lived here over 10 yrs. He and I lived in the home first then separate, I am finally going to purchase the home. My mortgage guy said I had to get it appraised.

I wouldn't do too much. Things like gutters and doors might make a small difference. The insulated garage door I wouldn't think would make a big difference. Since the house is yours already I would pick the stuff up in the yard, but the bottom line is what K2 said.

Most the appraisal will come from factors that you can't control.

Good luck,
Devildog

Agreeing with K2 and DevilDog:

Real estate appraisers are looking for major amenities and features which they can find in common with known homes of similar characteristics that have sold in your area in a recent period of time.

They are not interested in details and things like insulated garage doors, types of gutters etc...These things won't even be considered for the most part.

What they will be comparing are the number of bedrooms, the size of a garage if any, number of bathrooms, type of siding, condition of roof, total square footage, size of lot, general age and condition of the kitchen, heat type/fuel/age of heat system, central AC, types and kinds of windows, insulation, fireplaces, type of flooring, etc...

Appraisers are only interested in the 'big things' and those they can compare practically to homes that have recently sold to get a fair market value for the home.

All a lender really wants to know is that they are not allowing you to mortgage more money to buy the house than what the house is worth.

They want to know in the event you default, that they can get their loan money back.

That's it.

Maintenance items like a nice paint job and repaired gutters and shutters and other things will help make a nice impression on the appraiser, but will do little in determining what your house has in the way of amenties compared to other houses in your area.

Since appraisers can do on avergae of 6-10 appraisals in a day, he won't even 'see' the little things....

You guys, and/or gals have saved me some precious time and $$$ I appreciated your responses. This web site is Dynamite!!