What does an appraiser look for when they are at your home?

Appraisers look at the quality and condition of materials (counters, cabinetry, flooring, lighting, fixtures, hardware, trim, finishes, etc). They will also look at the site/lot, views, design, roof, walls, landscape, and external influences (proximity to a park or a gas station for example).

It would be a futile effort to attempt to write down everything that an appraiser is looking for when they visit your home, because every community and property is different. However, some things are common to every appraisal.

I'm often asked if it makes a difference that the owner recently did a renovation or repair. Appraisers will observe and consider the interior finishes and material quality of materials, the relative age of the upgrades and overall appeal associated with things like countertops or cabinetry. We also look for conformity to submarket norms (are the home features typical of the community). We make sure that the floorplan is functional and that the property would appeal to a typical buyer in the community.

Yes, upgrades typically matter a lot. However, repairs are not upgrades. If you just replaced a 15 year old food disposal, that will be considered in your overall condition, but the vast majority of sales have fully functioning appliances. If your repair is something major like a new roof, then of course that matters to most buyers. However, most buyers are not going to factor in the age of a disposal in their estimation of what your home is worth, and appraisers are seeking to gauge the likely market reaction of the typical buyer.

On the other hand, significant items of needed repair are a major negative factor to most buyers. If the roof is 10 years old and is not currently leaking the buyer won't give it much thought. If your roof is 25 years old and nearing the end of it's useful life, then most buyers are going to have a negative reaction to that. Think of major cost drivers and potential issues on the negative side, and rich materials or high end renovations on the positive side. Those are the major market drivers that are observed during the appraiser's visit and those are the things we are going to pay the most attention to.

When it comes to more complex properties like waterfront homes with ocean access, it is important for the appraiser to be familiar with those big submarket drivers like water depth and protection of the boat storage area/dock, seawall condition, view appeal, proximity to your local inlet, etc. For condominium units appraisers will specifically look for views and interior upgrades of course, but they will also look at the condo project appeal factors like budget/reserves, special assessments, common areas like pools & tennis courts, condition & renovation level of common areas, appeal of individual stack locations, appeal of individual floor locations and any specific special community features. Specific to townhomes an appraiser might be looking at location appeal within the building (end units often carry a premium), porch areas, private yard space, construction quality and HOA restrictions.

Appraisers tend to look at everything, and to consider everything about your home to one extent or another. Everything counts to some extent, but the more minimal items just don't carry a specific market reaction, and thus tend to be less important.