Unless you are planning on selling your home and relocating in the near future, or are an avid stalker of local property listings, chances are that you haven’t really thought much about what your home might be worth. Nevertheless, the property that we purchase, be it a house, an apartment, a farm or something else entirely, is almost certainly one of the most expensive commitments that we will make during our lifetime. As such, we want to ensure that it retains or even builds in value and places us in a good financial position should we decide to sell, or if we need to re-mortgage to obtain a more expensive property down the line.
There are many things which we may think we can do to tell us the approximate value of our home, but all too often these estimates aren’t an actual representation of how much our property is worth. Here is what you need to know about how not to establish the worth of your home, and what you should do to secure a fair and accurate valuation.
Why not to rely on home value finding websites
When it comes to establishing the value of your home, one of the biggest mistakes that people make is to go online and use a website that claims to be able to tell you what your property is worth. There is no algorithm that can that do that, despite what they claim. This is because the exact value of a home varies on any given day depending on a whole range of variables, from how desperate a buyer is to secure to how eager you are to sell it.
The only thing that these sites are good for is tracking trends in home value. For example, if you were to check the value estimated for your home every six months over the course of a number of years, you will be able to get a feel for whether properties like yours in your area are generally increasing or decreasing in value.
Comparisons with neighboring properties aren’t reliable
Another common thing that people do when trying to figure out how much their home is worth is to base their estimate on the amount that similar local properties have sold for. However, just because the Smith family down the street have a 4-bed detached suburban home that is a similar size and layout to yours, it doesn’t necessarily mean that their home value will be the same as yours. In fact, it could vary significantly. Every house sale is unique and dependent on a variety of factors including how the home has been staged, how hard the realtor has worked, the décor, the position of the buyers, the position of the sellers… there are many different aspects that come in to play when a final sale price is reached.
Ultimately, your home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and what you are willing to accept for it. For this reason, it is essential that you find a great realtor who can present your property in the very best light and secure you the best price when it comes to selling.
If you would like a reliable valuation for your home, our dedicated and friendly appraisal agents and realtors would be delighted to assist you. We have the local knowledge, skill and extensive experience needed to not only give you an accurate valuation but also to ensure that you can achieve reasonable offers and finally, a great sale price on your home. Please do not hesitate to contact our Boerne, TX office.
