What is my home worth?
The short answer is that your home is worth what the market will pay for it. If you are looking for a magic button that will give an accurate value estimate for your house, you will be disappointed. Online estimates are not going to be very accurate. Real details are needed for an accurate estimate.
As an appraiser, I'm often given some very broad information by someone, followed by the question; “so what do you think it's worth?”. The conversation goes something like: “Hey AJ, I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in The Acreage. What do you think it's worth?
My reply usually goes something like this: “Well I don't know friend, maybe you can tell me a little more about the house.”
What year was it built?
Is it CBS or frame?
What is the living area?
What is the interior like, have you done renovations?
What are the materials in your home? Are your counters granite or Formica or Onyx?
What type of flooring do you have?
How big is your lot?
Where is it located in the community?
Do you have much in the way of landscape?
Do you have a pond?
How old is your roof? What kind of roof is it? Was the last reroof permitted?
Do you have any addition or conversion areas? Are those areas of the same quality and finish as the rest of the house? Do they have a flat roof covering or is it part of the original roofline?
Do you have an attached garage? How big is it?
Do you have a detached garage, guest house, metal building, sheds, porches, gazebo, pool, deck, etc?
Are you near the high voltage power transmission lines?
How good are your paint finishes? Trimwork/crown? Columns, arches, planters shelves, vaulted ceilings, volume ceilings, skylights?
Do you have hurricance protection? Panels, shutters, or impact glass?
How good is your stucco finish?
Is the fascia in good shape and the soffit?
Once these type of details have been determined, that information needs to be compared to recent market activity in your area. Without knowing these details and many other features specific to your property, it is not possible to provide an accurate estimate. Online services that claim to provide your home's value only know whatever public record tells them about the house, and maybe a prior MLS listing with some conflicting information. How can that possibly be accurate without knowing more?
A true appraisal will require an appraiser going to your home to determine the important features and answer 100 other questions (similar to the ones above) through observations and research. The valuation process requires time spent obtaining information and crunching market data. If you want an accurate estimate, you will need to hire an experienced appraiser that will take the time to do the job right. If you really want to know what your home is worth, consider giving us a call and hiring us to find out.