Mortgage Finders Network
Mortgage Finders Network, get the answers you need from the source you trust.

Home Value Appraisals

Determining home value is essential not only when the house owners decide to sell it but for when financing for the property. Whether it is a single or multi-family house is not important as factors such as the neighborhood that it is part of as well as the prices of the houses surrounding it. When doing house appraisal, the owners should be aware that there is no exact possible value of the property but only a range. If you have ever pondered on the question "how much is my home worth", then you can do so on your own just with a calculator and data from your neighborhood regarding sales which can be obtained from real estate companies or agents.

You would want to be as specific as you can with gathering data so that you can pinpoint the closes possible "value of my home". For instance, try acquiring the total square foot of the house itself and the total square foot when the land is included. The number of bedrooms and baths are also essential. Do the same for nearby houses preferably with much similarity to your own. If you have a residential house with two floors, then the house sold that you will compare it to should also have two floor. Consider also the presence of pools, spacious garage and such house features which do matter in pricing. There should be a minimum of 3 houses within a 3 mile radius or within the same zip code. After this, it will be as simple as averaging the price that the houses were on when a successful sale was made.

To increase your chances of getting a home appraisal that is high and therefore favorable on your part, renovations are always effective especially when the buyers are starting to visit the place. Make sure that all and every minor damage such as lighting and leaks on plumbing get repaired. Landscaping is also a good idea and does not have to be as grand. Fix the exterior as much as possible to make it look much more appealing to prospective buyers. These may require you to invest a few thousands of dollars but could easily raise the value to tens of thousands of dollars.

If you do not want to compute the value on your own or if you want to check it against a more reliable source, you can use an online home appraisal. These web services are offered as free home appraisal options for house owners and can be just as big help as any other method of estimating home value. The way this works is that you will visit the appraisal website where there is an automated valuation model for you to use. To use the home value estimator, it is as simple as inputting the variables which will be asked for regarding the house features and most importantly, its location and area. House owners can significantly cut back in their expenses when getting an appraisal through this online method and can provide helpful tips and instructions for selling or getting mortgage that is appropriate to your house.

National Rate Averages

Mortgage Rates

Product Rate
5/1 yr ARM 3.147%
1 yr ARM 3.299%
15 yr fixed 3.221%
30 yr fixed 3.815%

Home Equity Rates

* Updated Jun 7, 2012