What Is A Home Value Assessment?
August 28, 2009
What You Need to Know About Home Value Assessments
When trying to determine the current value of your home, there are a lot of similar sounding terms that are thrown around to help you do that. One of the most commonly confused terms is “home value assessment”. The reason for this is that it’s easily interchangeable with the term “home value appraisal”, but you might be surprised to find that there is actually a significant difference between the two.
A home appraisal is an optional service in which you pay a third party Apprasier to evaluate your home and determine the current home value. This is generally done by people looking to sell their home, get a home equity loan or those wanting to refinance their current mortgage.
A home value assessment on the other hand, is generally used to describe the process in which a local county official will assess the current condition of your home in order to determine the amount of property taxes you should pay. Therefore, it traditionally is associated with less appeal than an appraisal.
A home assessment represents a typical, or average value for a property in relation to other property values within a specific period of time. Depending on where you live, this time frame can vary from six months to two years! It is not usually associated with the current trends in the real estate market because the value of a particular property will depend on the sales of the other homes nearby . Assessments are NOT based on larger sales activity trends which you might see county-wide or within a zip code area.
Instead your assessment value will be based on typical values within your neighborhood. While the sale of a property will affect a home’s assessment, the effect will be diluted by the mass appraisal methods and results usually from within the past year. Consequently, this time lag means that the assessments of properties that have sold very recently may differ from the sale price which is generally based on appraised value and real estate market trends.
It’s also important to note that transitory elements such as neighbors who don’t mow their lawns, or are consistantly noisy, will not affect your assessment. Whereas things like house construction, neighborhood boundaries and lot size remain relatively constant and therefore will likely play a factor in your home’s assessment.
Quick Facts
- An assessment is when the local government assesses your home value in order to determine how much property tax you should pay.
- Most government agencies do home assessments every 2-4 years, but can vary based on location.
- Home assessments are based on smaller, local areas such as your neighborhood versus larger trend tracking boundaries like counties and zip codes.
- An appraisal can be can be done by an actual Apprasier for a fee of or by your local Realtor, usually free of charge!
- If you feel you’ve received an unfair assessment of your home, you can contact your local tax officials and contest any findings.
In the end, it’s good to know the major difference between home value assessments and home appraisals. And while there’s not a whole lot you can do to affect your home assessment, it is important to be prepared for any changes that may take place. Taxes: Just one of the many joys and responsibilities of home ownership!
Home Resale Value
August 24, 2009
We get a lot of questions from people asking us about the resale value of their homes. It’s an important part of both the buying and selling process. When shopping for a home, you need to keep in mind it’s potential resale value 5, 10, and 15 years down the road. If you’re selling, than your resale value is essentially your home’s current value.
In either case, it is always best to contact your local real estate agent. In addition to being a go-to resource for any questions about your home, you can also request a comparative market analysis or CMA. A CMA will list the sales activity in your neighborhood for up to one year. Here you can determine the percentage of homes actually sold out of all those listed and you can see the average amount of time it took for those homes to sell. If you compare your homes attributes to the similar homes on the CMA, you’ll be able to have an idea of where your home’s value will fall so long as you can avoid the emotional bias that eliminates the objective judgment needed for your home. This, again, is where having a Realtor comes in handy.
If you’re looking to increase the resale value of your home, there are plenty of tips out there that can add value, but you want to be sure you get the best bang for your buck! Here is a list of popular renovations and their rate of return.
- Roof Replacement:
Avg. Cost = $14,000 - Rate of Return = 74% - Value at Sale = $10,360
- Bathroom Remodel:
Avg. Cost = $30,000 - Rate of Return = 75% - Value at Sale = $22,500
- Basement Remodel:
Avg. Cost = $55,000 - Rate of Return = 79% - Value at Sale = $43,450
- Major Kitchen Remodel:
Avg. Cost = $55,000 - Rate of Return = 83% - Value at Sale = $45,650
- 2nd Story Addition:
Avg. Cost = $110,000 - Rate of Return = 83% - Value at Sale = $91,300
- Window Replacement (Vinyl):
Avg. Cost = $10,000 - Rate of Return = 84% - Value at Sale = $8,400
- Window Replacement (Wood):
Avg. Cost = $11,000 - Rate of Return = 85% - Value at Sale = $9,350
(get more helpful information on custom window replacement from these Maryland replacement windows experts)
- Minor Kitchen Remodel:
Avg. Cost = $18,000 - Rate of Return = 86% - Value at Sale = $15,480
- Siding Replacement:
Avg. Cost = $9,500 - Rate of Return = 87% - Value at Sale - $8,265
Keep in mind these are averages and will be different based on the materials used and the styles incorporated. If you’re going for maximum return, keep your designs fairly neutral. You can add your personal style or flair by using accessories, pillows, art, etc, but you’ll want your over all design to appeal to as many buyers as possible to increase the resale value.
How to Determine Your Home Value
August 13, 2009
With the current economic times that we find ourselves in, many people, even those who aren’t selling their homes, are at the very least, curious as to what their home is worth. So unless you’re willing to dish out the $300 - $600 on an actual appraisal, you might want to do some of the work yourself. Here are a few tips to follow.
Research the median home value for your area. There is no cookie cutter formula out there that says a three bedroom, two bath home with 2,000 sq ft is worth $300,000. Instead you have to get online and check out local real estate. Go to local open houses to find homes that have similar features such as square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, basements etc and see what the asking price is. Be sure to view homes that you believe are valued a little above AND below yours.This will give you more comparisons by a specific feature (i.e. pool vs. no pool)
The houses that are on the market have usually had some kind of professional appraisal from an actual Realtor or Appraiser who knows the current market trends and thus most home prices are pretty accurate. Once you have this information, you can begin to assess and compare your own home.
Factors That Determine Home Value
- Square Footage: The more the merrier!
- Bedrooms: Usually having 3-4 bedrooms increases your buying pool. Just don’t sacrifice a garage or dining room to do it.
- Bathrooms: Most buyers prefer anything over one.
- Lot Size: Land will always be in high demand so the more you have the better!
- Location: Homes with a view or in historic locations tend to yield more value, whereas the opposite is true if you’re next to noisy train tracks or a land fill!
- Extras: Crown Molding, basements, pools, updates in kitchens and baths, and new flooring all raise home value and can set your home apart from your neighbor.
- Rule of Thumb: If there are less homes available in your area, the value of your home goes up! Conversely, if you have many comparable homes in your neighborhood, you can actually lose value.
Tools to Help Determine Home Value
There are a ton of online tools to help you find your home’s value, but none are considered 100% accurate. While we recommend consulting a local real estate agent, you can also try the website of your local county appraiser. They usually have great tips and an FAQ section to help answer any questions.
Keep in mind that if you’re planning on buying, selling or accessing equity in your home, you will almost always need a professional appraisal. In this case, look for agents who are licensed and have good references to help avoid headaches down the road.
Know matter how you do it, determining home value is never a sure thing, but by staying on top of your home value and the current market trends, you can be sure to get top dollar amounts when it’s time to cash in!
GetMyHomesValue.com President Steve Young Named One Of Central PA’s ‘Forty Under 40′
August 10, 2009
Lancaster, PA - GetMyHomesValue.com announced Monday that President and Co-Founder Steve Young will be honored as one of Central Penn Business Journal’s 2009 Forty Under 40 award recipients.
Young is the second GetMyHomesValue co-founder to receive this honor from Central Penn Business Journal. In 2006, Rory Wilfong was honored with the same distinction. Young will be awarded at an evening reception and awards program at Hilton Harrisburg from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m on October 23, 2009. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Forty Under 40 program.
As President of GetMyHomesValue.com, Young manages the day-to-day operations of the 16th fastest growing real estate-related company in the US. Young and two other entrepreneurs, Dave Conklin and Rory Wilfong, established GetMyHomesValue in 2004 as a subscription based lead generation service for real estate agents nationwide. In 2006, Central Penn Business Journal recognized the company as one of the region’s emerging businesses. In 2008, the company was honored by Inc. Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the nation.
Today, in addition to online lead generation, GetMyHomesValue also provides a suite of internet marketing tools, personal coaching services, and CRM software for its lead generation subscribers. More recently added to the website include a GetMyHomesValue.com real estate directory and GetMyHomesValue.com customer support forum.
Young was selected for this year’s Forty Under 40 for his commitment to business growth, professional excellence and the community in addition to his success as one of GetMyHomesValue’s co-founders.
“It’s a very cool accomplishment,” said Young. “Having my success recognized by peers in the area and being grouped on such a strong list of leaders in the region is a pretty great feeling.”
Before starting GetMyHomesValue.com, Young was a mortgage consultant and owner of Classic Mortgage Services, Inc. He was also a mortgage consultant and loan officer with Homesale Mortgage Services, in Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Millersville University (Millersville, PA).
Nominations for the Forty Under 40 program ended in late April, and a panel of four judges, all past recipients of the award, reviewed and scored the nominees to determine the top forty list. 2009 judges include: Steven P. Buterbaugh, E.K. McConkey & Co., Inc.; Brian DeCew, Beyond Architecture LLC; Tonia Leitzel Ulsh, Mountz Jewelers; and Leland James Nelson, Dirty Dog Franchising Group.
The awards event is open to the public and admission costs $90 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at centralpennbusiness.com/events.
Following the event, Young and the other award recipients will be featured in a special supplement to the October 30th edition of the Central Penn Business Journal. The list of winners will also appear in the 2010 Book of Lists publication.
Sponsors of the 2009 Forty Under 40 program include American Home Bank, Hilton Harrisburg, Highmark Blue Shield, Lehman Volvo, The River 97.3 WRVV and BOB 94.9.
GetMyHomesValue.com is a Lancaster, PA based, Inc. 500 real estate marketing company that utilizes the internet to connect consumers who have real estate needs to real estate professionals. At the same time, GetMyHomesValue.com provides real estate agents nationwide with prospective clients, CRM products, strategic coaching and internet marketing services. For more information, please call 877.545.3237 or visit the customer success center powered by GetMyHomesValue.com for information on the company’s full suite of services.
Location, Location, Location!
August 7, 2009
Location is the Key to Maximize Your Home Value
Many first time home buyers and even experienced real estate investors always seem to focus on the functionality and charm of a proposed property. They look for updated kitchens, ample closet space, and the white picked fence and they expect these characteristics to lead to increased property value over time. But many fail to remember the unofficial slogan of the real estate industry - “location, location, location!”
The truth of the matter is that the actual physical structure looses value over time. It’s the land underneath it that appreciates in value. This is a significant distinction considering that buying a house (or any property) is one of the biggest investments you will ever make.