Understanding Your Lakeland Fl Home Appraisal
Home Appraisal is a term every buyer or seller encounters during the Lakeland Fl home buying process. What is an appraisal and how does it affect the entire deal?
Some sellers find themselves in this unfortunate predicament where they have some buyers lined up with an offer ready, only to find out that the buyer’s financing has fallen through. The reason: the asking price of the home is way beyond the appraised value.
This scenario is an all too common cause of the high number of cancelled contracts for Lakeland Fl homes for sale as well as in other real estate markets.
To avoid getting into this situation, make sure you know something about home appraisals:
1. Lenders will not usually write a mortgage for more than a Lakeland Fl home is worth. This sets them up for a huge financial burden in case the prospective buyer defaults on their loan. The lender will instead write a mortgage for whichever price is lower, whether it be the appraised value or the sale price.
2. An appraisal is done by the local appraiser’s office or tax office. They compute the market value of your Lakeland Fl home based on square footage, and other specifics of the home such as number of bedrooms, if the home has a fireplace (check out our gas furnace repair in Tacoma – Nortech Services in case the fireplace is inert), type of flooring, etc. A home with a fireplace and laminate floors will have a higher appraised value but will also cost more in taxes.
3. Homeowners will receive a statement from the appraiser’s office every year showing the appraised value of your Lakeland Fl home. If you feel the value is incorrect, then feel free to contest it with your local tax office.
4. The local market conditions could generally affect the appraised value of your Lakeland Fl home for sale. If there are 10 Lakeland Fl homes for sale on your street and half of them are foreclosures, then you could be in for a shock when you find out the current value of your home, since foreclosed homes sell at 15%-20% lower than a regular home. According to the NAR, “Distressed sales, which tend to sell at steep discounts, continue to hamper home prices nationwide.”
Make sure to get the help of an expert Lakeland Fl listing agent to help you determine the value of your home based on current market conditions. A good agent will be able to help you come up with the best price of your home which will still be competitive with other homes in your area maximizing your profits.