What’s Your Home Worth—Really? (NAPSA)—Many homeowners are curious about the value of their property and would like to find a reliable way to get an estimate. Here are some tips on how to get the facts and notsettle for a guess: * Don’t always believe what you see at online home valuation sites. On some sites, you can enter your address and a property value pops up. While these sites can sometimes be fairly accurate, research has shown that they are often off the mark. The reason is that online valuation sites primarily consider public records data such as tax assessmentsor listings for sale—not current, independent appraisal data. Plus, Web valuation sites can’t look inside a house to note major upgrades such as a new kitchen or other amenities. A good rule of thumb: Don’t take a free Internet estimate to the bank. Not all appraisers are equal. The most reliable way to get a value estimate of your home is to use a professional real estate appraiser. Using current market data, knowledge of the area, a homevisit and analysis of comparable properties, the appraiser arrives at an opinion of market value. Appraisers are hired by banks or mortgage brokers during a pending sale transaction. Homeowners can also hire their own appraiser as a check on the bank’s appraiser, or for assurance that they aren’t paying too much. Homeowners also use appraisers for home valuations when appealing property tax assessments, drafting wills, undertaking a major homerenovation or dividing property pursuantto legal actions. Although all real estate ap- Online sites that offer free home valuation may be significantly off the mark because they can’t fac- tor in upgrades. praisers must be state licensed or certified, some appraisers increase their credentials by earning an SRA designation conferred by the Appraisal Institute to distinguish members experienced in the analysis and valuation of residential real property. They meet stringent education, experience and ethical requirements that surpass many of those required for state licensure. Appraisal Institute-designated appraisers can be found at www.appraisalinstitute.org. Not all renovations add value. A common misperception among homeownersis that remodeling and renovating cost equals value. Not every improvement will pay off come selling time. Remodeling a kitchen or bathroom may bring the greatest return on your investment, but some custom installations can actually detract from value. A good rule is to stick to what’s standard in your neighborhood and considerprojects that add square footage to bring a house up to—but not beyond— community norms.
