Selling a Home: Appraisals

Get tips on how to set up an appraisal when selling your home. Having your home appraised can give you a good idea of how much buyers will be willing to pay for it.

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LESLIE: Kevin in Texas, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?

KEVIN: Hi. I have a house for sale through a realtor and I was wondering how long an appraisal would be valid for if I were to go ahead and just do that myself. Now here in Texas, the buyer usually has to pay for the appraisal but, as the seller, if I go ahead and do that will it be good for 30 days or 90 days or how long?

TOM: Well, I mean I certainly would expect it to be good for, you know, three to six months. It really depends on the market. Now, the reason that you’re doing this is just for your own edification so you can help price the home appropriately?

KEVIN: Yes, I just want to make sure the realtor and I are (inaudible at 0:29:00.6) it appropriately, yes.

TOM: Yeah, I mean I think that that’s – it’s reasonable to expect it to be – and it’s an estimate; it’s an educated estimate based on home sales in your area. That’s what an appraisal is. And I would expect it, in most markets, to hold for three to six months. But things can change quickly and, in which case, it may no longer be valid and have to be adjusted. And if that was the situation, I would speak with the appraiser about – that did the original appraisal – and say, “Hey, has anything changed dramatically?” Maybe you can do some quick rechecking of the specs of the comparable homes that are used to create the appraisal and make adjustments accordingly.

KEVIN: OK.

LESLIE: You know, Kevin, there’s a great website; it’s the AppraisalFoundation.org. And it’s authorized by Congress and it goes over all the guidelines and what makes an appraiser, what are the standards of appraisal, how long will it last for. It’s a great, very user-friendly website that could probably point you in the right direction there as well.