A home is most families largest financial asset and knowing it's current market value is important. Perhaps you are thinking about selling to move closer to the grandchildren. Or maybe you are trying to decide if it makes sense to take that new job offer and relocate. Understanding your home's value is an important part of financial planning.
If you are in need of a Home Valuation, Mike Reames would be happy to come meet with you to discuss the current real estate markets and the value of your home. When you contact Reames Realty to schedule a Home Valuation consultation, rest assured that Mike Reames will be the one that meets with you and prepares your analysis.
Tax Assessment
Checking your home's tax assessment value is the easiest and fastest way to check your property's worth. The tax assessment value is used by your locality to levy real estate tax on a localities citizens. Tax assessment are prepared by the localities tax assessors. These are professionals that maintain records and a database of all of the properties and sales in an area. Assessors keep very general and broad records of your home such as the size of your home and the number of bedrooms. Tax assessors generally never go into your home or get an opportunity to see all of the upgrades or improvements you may have made.
As your neighbors sell their homes, the assessors record those transactions and create and average value for the neighborhood. Your tax assessment value is based on this average sales method. Generally, the newer the neighborhood, the more accurate the Tax assessment value is to the Market Value of your home. All of the homes are new and are generally in similar conditions. An older neighborhood has varying degrees of improvements and maintenance of properties. In a thirty year old subdivision, there may be homes that have never been improved and needing some general maintenance. There may be some homeowner's that have spent small fortunes maintaining and upgrading these homes throughout the years. The tax assessor can only develop an average value for the neighborhood and assign that value for each home because they don't know which homes have been improved and which homes have been improved.
Appraised Value
People regularly tell me that they have an appraisal of their property. Many think that this is the current value of their property and would like to use the Appraised value as the list price when we sell their home. Appraisals are not Market Values. Appraisal generally work for banks. A buyer finds a home that they would like to purchase and enters into a contract to buy the home. The buyer then goes to a bank and asks for a loan to buy the property. The Appraiser is given a copy of the Purchase Contract and the Bank pays the Appraiser to evaluate the home and determine it's value. The Appraiser visits the property and conducts a detailed study of the home. The home is measured and the actual size and square footage is recorded. Features and upgrades are recorded and documented. Photographs are taken of the property and are used in the final appraisal.
Appraisals are based on recent comparable sales. Appraisers look at similar properties that have sold in the last few months. Appraisers then make adjustments to those sales when compared to the subject property. The comparable has a screened porch and the subject does not, then the appraiser will make an adjustment to the subject value because it doesn't have that feature.
Appraised values are based on historical sales and are very important. Appraised values are all that a bank is willing to loan you for the property. But that is the big difference. Appraised Value is the Bank's Value for your home. It is important to mention that Appraised values can be created and prepared without going to market. This is very important when settling estates or dividing property values between owners.
Market Value
The Market Value is how much a willing buyer will pay you today for your property.