Getting home ready for refi appraisal?

[branv]

I'm not completely concerned about it, as we only have to get it appraised for about $5K less than we paid for it, and even that purchase price was one huge value compared to what the same model ended up costing people later on. Plus, we didn't have the same value drops other places did during the recession. BUT, that doesn't mean I don't want to avoid some stupid mistake that will hurt us.

So, are there any tips you can provide for prepping a house for a refi appraisal?

For instance, we do have some settlement cracks in the drywall (pretty common in our area due to clay soil). Should we do a patch of those, or is it just one of those expected things for homes that we shouldn't fret about?

Anything I should check around and outside the house that maybe I might not have noticed, but an appraiser will?

And here's a stupid question -- are you supposed to walk around with an appraiser and answer questions, or leave them the heck alone to do their job?

Thanks!

 

[ICF]

I wouldnt worry much about it.

The last apprasial we had done (in Sept) they walked around by themselves.

The one done before that, a few years earlier, they didnt even have to come into the house. It was mostly based on comps to other houses in our area.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I think they just do comps. Shouldn't even come to your house.

 

[JamesMom]

We closed on a USAA refi loan two weeks ago and for the appraisal the guy came out, took pictures outside and inside (kitchen, master bath & living room) and put it in a 20 page report complete with real estate comps. Very thorough.

 

[ccgirl]

I think they just do comps. Shouldn't even come to your house.

Now, with the foreclosure crisis they come in and take pics etc.

We closed on a USAA refi loan two weeks ago and for the appraisal the guy came out, took pictures outside and inside (kitchen, master bath & living room) and put it in a 20 page report complete with real estate comps. Very thorough.

This is exactly what they do now. Perhaps if you are refinancing thru your current bank, they will be more lax. However, banks are really protecting their interests now.

OP - the appraisers will want to walk around independently. They will do what JamesMom has indicated. Take pics and compare to comps. I wouldn't be too concerned with settling cracks. If you have any water damage to ceilings and huge flaws I would try to repair those. Other than that, there's not a whole lot you can do to increase an appraisal unless you have finished the basement, added a bathroom and things like that.

Good luck.

 

[Swimalie]

We just had our appraisal in Sept. I picked up the house and we did little things like get the garage storage up before the guy came but didn't do any major things (don't rally have any). I did walk around with the guy because he asked me to point out any improvements we have made since we bought the house 4 years ago. Even small things like painting the room, new light fixtures, faucets, etc. They want to know it all. He also took pictures of all the major rooms and the outside. I just made sure to get out of the pictures. Our cat, however made 2 appearances. heehee

If you are worried about things like cracks, think about how bad they look. Are they large enough that you will be able to see them in pictures? If so, I would consider repairing them. One thing the guy wrote on our report was "nothing other than normal wear and tear on a house built in 2004".

Oh and we bought in 2006 and have lost a huge amount of value (about $145,000). We were crossing our fingers that we would get above the 20% level. We came in $8000 above it. Phew! Now we're waiting for the closing agent to give us our closing date

Good luck. I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[Molliday]

For a full-blown appraisal, the appraiser will come inside. The days of drive-by appraisals are gone, due to the mortgage crisis.

With that said, the lender may have ordered a broker price opinion. In that case, those can be exterior viewings only (performed by a Realtor), and it'll be based on comps, and the condition of the exterior of the home.

 

[branv]

Thanks everyone! Yeah, he did warn us that they are very careful with ensuring absolutely no conflict of interest with appraisals on either side these days, as well as being more thorough overall. Just wasn't sure what "thorough" meant!

 

[Kae]

We just had our appraisal in Sept. I picked up the house and we did little things like get the garage storage up before the guy came but didn't do any major things (don't rally have any). I did walk around with the guy because he asked me to point out any improvements we have made since we bought the house 4 years ago. Even small things like painting the room, new light fixtures, faucets, etc. They want to know it all. He also took pictures of all the major rooms and the outside. I just made sure to get out of the pictures. Our cat, however made 2 appearances. heehee

.

Really that's odd those things are considered maintenance.

Kae

 

[disneypharm]

Now, with the foreclosure crisis they come in and take pics etc.

This is exactly what they do now. Perhaps if you are refinancing thru your current bank, they will be more lax. However, banks are really protecting their interests now.

OP - the appraisers will want to walk around independently. They will do what JamesMom has indicated. Take pics and compare to comps. I wouldn't be too concerned with settling cracks. If you have any water damage to ceilings and huge flaws I would try to repair those. Other than that, there's not a whole lot you can do to increase an appraisal unless you have finished the basement, added a bathroom and things like that.

Good luck.

Not really! We just refinanced our house and they just did the comps. They never came to our house. We have done some major remodeling (Kitchen granite counters, enlarged the deck and changed it to Trex, hardwood floor, etc) in the last 5 years, and a walkin would have probably helped our appraisal. However, we don't care, as we don't want higher tax assessments. Having a large equity (65% of house value) may make them decide if they just do a comps or not.

 

[TaraPA]

Our refi appraisal was a drive-by a few months ago, and comps were using for comparison. So from this thread it sounds like half are drive-bys, half are full inspections.

 

[Molliday]

Not really! We just refinanced our house and they just did the comps. They never came to our house. We have done some major remodeling (Kitchen granite counters, enlarged the deck and changed it to Trex, hardwood floor, etc) in the last 5 years, and a walkin would have probably helped our appraisal. However, we don't care, as we don't want higher tax assessments. Having a large equity (65% of house value) may make them decide if they just do a comps or not.

Our refi appraisal was a drive-by a few months ago, and comps were using for comparison. So from this thread it sounds like half are drive-bys, half are full inspections.

It sounds like both of your lenders ordered BPO's, instead of full appraisals. I don't think drive-by appraisals are being done anymore.

 

[Swimalie]

Really that's odd those things are considered maintenance.

Kae

Upgrading the builder-grade light fixtures with something nice and new, upgrading the building-grade faucets to something nicer and painting above the builder white are all considered upgrades, not maintenance. In our case, we also tore down our builder grade deck and added in a larger paver patio with landscaping.

 

[kehlyrsmom]

We are in the process of refinancing as well. We close next Tuesday, our apprasial guy came out a couple of weeks ago did a walk through and took several pictures inside the house. I gave him a copy of the sheet that we got when we bought the house with the square footage of all the rooms he said he had gotten somthing similiar to that already on our house. He also took measurements outside and took pictures as well. I am sure he also coompared our house to others in our area.

Now my parents refinanced through the same bank that their loan was through and they did not have to have an appraisal done. We origianally had our loan through a local bank as well but it was sold and out of state so we are refinancing through another local bank again.

 

[Alex&Evan'sMom]

I work for an appraiser and about 1/2 of the appraisals we do are refinances. Not very many are drive-bys but there are a few. I believe that credit score is one of the deciding factors between drive-bys/full appraisals. For full refi appraisals we do the same things that we would do for purchases including pictures, comps, descriptions, improvements and necessary repairs.

 

[Kae]

Upgrading the builder-grade light fixtures with something nice and new, upgrading the building-grade faucets to something nicer and painting above the builder white are all considered upgrades, not maintenance. In our case, we also tore down our builder grade deck and added in a larger paver patio with landscaping.

The deck is one thing but the others are not going to affect the appraisal. They might be upgrades when building but when have an appraisal done a faucet is a facet & Paint is paint.

Kae