When you want to sell your property, you’ll need the unbiased opinion of a valuer, also known as an appraiser, to determine the value of your home. When an appraiser is valuing your property, certain things influence its worth. These are:  

• Size: This is determined by the number of square feet, number of bathrooms, and bedrooms. Conventionally, bigger homes attract higher values.  

• Location: The presence of significant amenities like schools, grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, and good roads can influence your home’s appraisal worth. The bigger the market value of your property location, the bigger the appraisal value.   

• Features: Important house amenities like a fireplace, garage, yard, patio, and view can significantly raise the value of your home.  

• Interior: Your appraiser will look at the quality and condition of your house's internal features like walls, flooring, appliances, windows, fixtures, doors, countertops, and plumbing works. High-end materials like stainless steel appliances, granite or stone countertops, and hardwood floors can significantly improve your property value.  

• Exterior: The roof, foundation, and siding are things that the appraiser will look at. Quality materials such as fiber cement or stone siding can raise the value of your house.

When you’re waiting for your property appraiser, you can make some home improvements. The following pre-appraisal checklist tips may prove valuable for upselling your property. These include: 

1. Increase The Usable Space 

Adding extra usable square footage can make a major financial difference for your property, especially in places where land is limited and real estates are few. The squarer the feet the better since homes are valued by the available living space. Bearing this in mind, you can thus add another bathroom, extra rooms, or some other space to increase the function and value of your home.   

It’s generally believed that most homes lack a mother-in-law facility. Therefore, adding a separate mother-in-law suite can boost your home’s worth, making you stand out when selling your property.  

1. Clean The Yard 

An eye-catching yard can work miracles when it comes to appraising your home. Therefore, trim the trees in your compound and plant some beautiful flowers and small plants. If you have some flower troughs, you should clean them. You may also go ahead and paint it for a good look.   

Additionally, don’t leave your lawn unattended. Take time to mow it so that it looks evenly beautiful. Moreover, check the condition of your runway. If there are cracks or potholes, you need to have them repaired before the appraiser visits your home. Do the same to the walkways within your compound.  

1. Deep Clean Your House 

There is nothing that turns off an appraiser like an untidy house. Ensure that your walls are washed. You may also repaint them to give them a new lease of life. This helps in removing stains and any marks that may be there. Take time to clean the wardrobes in the bedrooms and the kitchen. Moreover, ensure that the floors of all rooms are scrubbed well to get rid of any stains. In case you have a hardwood floor, clean it with the right materials that won’t destroy it. The attic is also another place that you should clean as it’s forgotten most of the time. Taking time to deep clean your house makes it welcome, which might help get a good appraisal value. 

1. Do Minor Repairs 

Check all appliances and fixtures to ensure that they are in order. Fix any dripping faucets and repair broken gutters. The wardrobes in the kitchen and bedrooms need to be fixed in case of damage occurring. If you have a broken windowpane, it's high time you replaced it. Occasionally, check all security lights to see if it's in order. You may need to replace all the blown lights and work on faulty wiring. Do this to avoid having a list of things that lowered the value of your property.   

After you have the list, this means you must do the repairs and hire the appraiser a second time to appraise your home after the improvements. 

1. List All Upgrades Made 

If you’ve been living in your house for a long time, expect to do some repairs. Record all the upgrades done including the costs and dates. No matter how small the renovation was, it can affect the appraisal value of your home. It might have been something like buying a new dishwasher, replacing worn-out countertops, or replacing washroom basins. Proving these expenses is a show of how much your house is worth. Additional expenses may also occur, the cost of labor of hiring a reputable contractor to work on your new bathroom or kitchen. 

Wrapping Up 

Selling your home for the highest possible value is the desire of every homeowner. However, this will not be possible if you ignore minor aspects such as performing critical repairs, overlooking the tidiness of your lawn, and failing to deep clean your house. You can boost the value of your home by increasing the amount of livable space in your house. Follow the tips provided in this article to level up the chances of increasing the value of your home before your appraiser comes.