what do appraisers look for

[mrsdrummer]

We're getting our house appraised becuase my dad is re-financing it, I want him to get the most out of the appraisal. What exactly do they look for?

[Asha]

actually, the one who did our house really didn't look at much. it's much less thorough than a home inspection. the main thing they look at is comps in the neighborhood. our's didn't appraise for what we originally offered and i think that was due the inside of the house needing a paint job, old/outdated appliances, and crazy stair case. basically, the house hadn't really been updated since the late 80's. also, the condos in our same complex sold for about 30k less than our's. the difference was that our house had a finished basement, corner unit with much bigger yard, and extra bath. he didn't really take that into consideration much bc they kept referring back to the comps.

[Rancid13]

They'll mostly look at the condition of your house and compare it to other similar properties (comparables) in your neighborhood that have sold recently. They'll note any remodeling or upgrading the house has, whether it was done by you or the prior owners. They'll also make note of any 'extras'-any added rooms, pool/spa, A/C, that sort of thing. They will measure the home to determine the square footage and make note of any obvious detriments (cracks in the concrete driveway, roof shingles missing, appliances in disrepair, etc).

They definitely don't go as in-depth as a home inspector does; a home inspector is mainly interested in health and safety issues, anything that might be in need of fixing or of danger to anyone living in the home. Another thing an appraiser doesn't care about is the cleanliness of the house. Doesn't matter if there's clutter or not (although clutter doesn't look too nice in interior photos), as long as it doesn't impede their ability to get good measurements of the interior and exterior space of the home. They don't care if there's laundry that needs to be done, dirty dishes in the sink, a partially painted interior wall. None of that will take away from a home's value on an appraisal.

Here's a link that might be of some help:

http://quickval.com/appraisal/index.asp#2.3

Click on "what does an appraiser look for".