Looking to Buy Soon - Should I Get Appraisal of My Home First?

I would definitely have a couple of realtors give you their market analysis. this is not the same as a certified appraisal. Plus, you might want to consider hiring a home inspector to point out the things that you will definitely have to fix. you might want to start some of those before putting the house on the market.

I'm a realtor.

Appraisals are typically done at the behest of a bank who will be loaning on a property. Appraisers are under a lot of pressure to come up with 'worst case' estimates on homes and consequently and appraisal will tend to be lower than market value. They will cost roughly $450.

CMA, competitive market assessments are put together by Realtor to give you an accurate picture of what similar style homes are selling for, how long it will take to sell at "best case" and "worst case" scenarios, whether concessions are involved (when the seller pays closing costs, etc) and whether your home needs any six ups to be truly salable.

My advice is to call a Realtor -or 3- and get a feel for what your home is worth on the competitive market. GL! No need to put out any money if you don't need to :)

NO don't get an appraisal, this is done when a buyer puts an offer on your house & they pay for it. When you find a Realtor they will give you a list of homes similar to yours & price it that way. Interview at least 3 realtors & choose the one that seems to fit your personality, has a strong sense of work ethic, good track record, motivated, & HONEST. When I have interviewed realtors I told them I am looking for someone to be completely honest with me. I have also had realtors take me to check out my competition.

I would not suggest finding your dream home until you have sold your home & maybe consider not looking until you have actually handed over the keys to the new buyer. I have been a title closer for several years & have seen lots of sales blow up right at the closing table for multiple reasons. If you found your dream home & haven't even put your home up for sale or if it is up for sale & hasn't sold then you are going to have too many emotions & want to put an offer on the dream home & that could make for a big mess financially.

A lot of buyers are having to go with an FHA loan so I would suggest when you find a Realtor to have them order an FHA inspection on your home. FHA guidelines are crazy so it would be best to have an inspection done ASAP so that you can take care of any possible problems before someone puts an offer in on your home.

If you are serious about buying your dream home then tell your realtor that you want to price it to sell but be competitive too. Good luck

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Yes, you should get your appraisal first...especially with the housing market being a buyer's market now, unless you already have the money to put down on a new one. You will have to pay for your appraisal, yes. In my area they are about $400. I would also suggest that you talk to a realtor. In my state, you can only deal with one realtor--they make you sign a contract. I'm not sure about yours. Also, our own personal experience over here makes me want to suggest that you also get your own home on the market ASAP as well because you could be waiting for a buyer of your current home for up to years.

Yes, you should get your current house appraised - a good realtor can help you do that. And you should get pre-approved for a new mortgage. Mortgages are harder to come by now, more rules apply to avoid the high number of defaults that have been happening.

I'm not sure how the housing market is in your area, but in general there is a large backlog of housing available on the market. Counting on the proceeds of your current house to put a down payment on the new one may not work as you expect right now. I would check to see how the market is in your area and if you can even find a realtor to represent your home.

You can get your home appraised. An actual appraisal would run between $300 and $500. This could actually help sell your home. However, most people have a realtor give them market comparisons to price their home and this is part of the service paid for once the home is sold. You should interview a minimum of 3 realtors before deciding who to go with.

Typically an apprasial isn't done by the seller when they choose to sell their home. However, it's not a bad idea. It could be helpful in providing you with any repairs that need to be done, and there would be no surprises at closing time. We paid $300, 15 years ago. How long have you owned your home? Check to see the appraisal cost when you purchased the house.

I've never sold a house, but I would start by calling a realator. They can tell you what they beleive would be a listing price for your home by comparing it to similar homes in your area Then you can deduct fees, what you owe on your current mortgage, and that will give you a good idea of what you'll have for a down payment.

If your planning on using the proceeds from your current house sale as a downpayment on a new home, then you would need to sell your house first. Also, before looking for a new home, you should get preapproved for a mortgage, that way you'll know what price range your new house should fall in.

Before you do anything, go to www.annualcreditreport.com and make sure there are no mistakes on your credit report. It can take 30 days for errors to be corrected and it can cost you a heck of a lot of money if you let your bank pull the report especially if it has errors.

There is no charge for going to that website, just make sure you have a printer and you print your reports from all 3 credit reporting agencies. If you have a dispute, you can dispute it on line.

Good luck.

You can only contract with one realtor. But. You can "interview" several. They should come over with what they feel your home could sell for. Keep in mind that they inflate it a little. I would wait to start looking until after you sell your home. The interest rates may be lower, but there are firmer lending rules now for buyers. It's harder for them to get a loan than it was a few years ago. So your pool of people who could buy your home has shrunk considerably.