Getting your house ready for sale
There is a way to make sure you don’t become another Flower Mound, Texas real estate statistic. In many cases, this can be prevented if you follow some simple guidelines before you contact a prospective lender.
Obviously, you want your home to appraise for as high as possible. A high value means more money in your pocket.
I am refinancing my home: Should I paint the exterior?
No, in most cases. Some of the primary concerns the appraiser will have involve the structure of the house rather than the aesthetics. Sometimes, however, it pays to spruce up a bit.
If your house has an 8-year-old paint job and is not the same brilliant shade of orange it once was, it doesn’t have to be repainted. However, if you’ve got paint chipping and you can see the last three colors the house was painted, it’s time to pull out your pocketbook and paint.
I have a crack in the paint in my living room: Do I need to remodel?
An upgraded bath or kitchen will always raise the value of a home. However, what an appraiser is looking for are things that will need fixing as soon as a new buyer takes procession. He will be looking for mold and mildew, settlement cracks, and foundation issues, so remodeling to address these issues will always be a good thing.
Should I replace walls that have mildew?
Once again, the appraiser is looking for a leaky roof that is causing the mildew. A possible leaky roof will be a loan killer, or you may need to put on a new roof before refinancing. If it is just a bit of mildew coming from the inside of the house, paint it. It’s no point losing the deal due to harmless mold.
My lot is beginning to look like a car repair shop.
This one is a pretty common issue in rural America. So you like to tinker with cars; should you be penalized in value because of that? Most appraisers will look at your car collection as an eye sore and lower the home’s value. That’s the best scenario. If they see a large garage and some cars being worked on, it may get labeled an income property and your lender will make you jump through hoops to do the loan.