What is a home appraisal? Is it the assessed value or is it determined during the home inspection? It’s neither.
A home appraisal is a qualified third-party’s educated opinion on how much the home you’re purchasing is worth. Generally, an appraiser looks at the following factors:
- Square footage
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Overall condition of the home
- Updates and remodels
- Permanent fixtures (think in-ground pools, fences, sheds, etc.)
- The neighborhood the home is located in
- Sale prices of comparable homes in the neighborhood
Don’t worry, arranging an appraisal isn’t going to be another task added to your to do list. Your lender will order a home appraisal for you. Appraisals benefit both the lender and the buyer. For the lender, an appraisal protects their own investment. They don’t want to lend you $200,000 to purchase a home only worth $150,000.
Why? Because if you default on the loan, the collateral they have is less than it would cost to pay off the remainder of your loan, meaning they would lose out on quite a bit of money.
Appraisals benefit the buyer because it lets them know what the house they’re buying is worth. Think about it. Don’t you want to know what the home is worth, not just what someone is asking for it? Not only is the third-party appraiser qualified to make an accurate assessment, but they’re impartial to the home.
Sellers are more likely to assume their home is worth more than it actually is. They think about all of the work and care they put into maintaining the home and sometimes that’s reflected in the listing price.
Home Appraisal vs. Assessed Value
Now, you may be thinking to yourself that you don’t want to have an appraisal done because you don’t want the taxes to increase on the home you are purchasing. You’re in the clear – appraisals don’t affect your taxes.
The value that affects the amount of taxes you pay is the assessed value and is determined by the county your home is located in. The county actually never sees your home’s appraised value and their assessment values are primarily based on the home’s location, not the home itself.
Because appraisals and assessments are based on different factors, homeowners often find that the appraised and assessed values of their homes differ. Having an appraised value that differs from the assessed value isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That is, unless the appraised value is greatly lower than the assessed value. When that happens, you’re paying more in taxes than your home is actually worth.
If you have additional questions that weren’t covered or would like to discuss your individual financial situation, feel free to give us a call at 402-991-5153. We’d love to answer your questions!
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