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A home appraiser estimates what a house would sell for by comparing it with recent sales of similar homes nearby, adjusting for differences in size, condition, features, and location, and confirming what the house actually is by measuring and inspecting it. The appraisal happens at a purchase, a refinance, sometimes a home equity loan, and occasionally an estate or a dispute. The owner cannot set the value, but the owner can make the facts easy to verify, and unverifiable facts get no credit.
This post is for the owner or seller preparing for a visit: what the appraiser does, what they ask, and what to have ready. It is not about how to inflate a value, which does not work and can be fraud.
How does an appraiser arrive at a value?
An appraiser arrives at a value mainly through comparable sales: recent, nearby, similar homes that actually sold, with the price adjusted for each difference from your house (square footage, bedrooms and baths, garage, lot, age, condition, upgrades). For new construction and unusual homes they may also consider the cost to rebuild, and for rentals the income. The visit confirms the size, layout, condition, and features the adjustments depend on.
The comparables are the appraiser's job and mostly out of your hands. Condition and documented features are where the owner's record matters, because an adjustment for a new roof, a replaced HVAC system, or a permitted addition can only be made if the appraiser can see and verify it.
What does the appraiser check during the visit?
During the visit the appraiser measures the exterior to calculate the living area, counts rooms, photographs every room and the exterior, notes the construction, the roof, the mechanical systems and their apparent age, the quality of finishes, and the condition of everything visible, and looks for problems that affect value or safety: water damage, structural cracks, missing handrails, peeling paint, a failing roof. For some loans, safety and habitability items must be repaired before closing.
| What they look at | What helps |
|---|---|
| Living area and room count | The plans or a prior appraisal; access to every room, including the basement and attic |
| Age and condition of roof, HVAC, water heater, windows | Invoices and install dates; the model and serial labels |
| Kitchen and bath updates | Permits, contractor invoices, dates, and before-and-after photos |
| Additions and finished spaces | Permits and final inspections; unpermitted space may not count as living area |
| Systems: electrical, plumbing, heating | Service records; no visible defects |
| Exterior and site | Grading, drainage, driveway condition, fencing, outbuildings |
| Safety items | Handrails, smoke and CO alarms, GFCI outlets, no peeling paint in older homes |
What should you have ready?
Have a one-page list of improvements with dates and costs, the permits and final inspections for any addition or major work, the invoices for the roof, HVAC, water heater, windows, and major appliances, the plans or a prior appraisal for the square footage, the HOA information if there is one, and access to every space including the garage, basement, attic hatch, and any locked room. Hand it over at the start; do not make the appraiser ask.
This is the same packet a buyer wants, and selling with a complete record describes assembling it. If you have been keeping a home record, the list is a printout: the systems with their install dates, the projects with their costs, and the documents behind each.
What does not help, and what hurts?
Following the appraiser from room to room, arguing about comparables, or quoting a neighbor's listing price does not help; the appraisal is an independent opinion, and pressure is noted, not rewarded. Unpermitted work hurts: an addition without a permit may be excluded from the living area or flagged, and a buyer's lender may require it be permitted or removed. Deferred maintenance hurts more than cosmetic wear: a roof with visible damage, a wet basement, or a failing furnace draws a condition adjustment and possibly a repair requirement.
The honest version of "preparing for the appraisal" is doing the maintenance you would have done anyway and being able to prove it. The maintenance schedule and the documents behind it are the preparation; the visit is just where they get read.
Common questions
Does cleaning the house before an appraisal help?
Cleanliness is not a valuation factor, but condition is, and a clean, uncluttered house lets the appraiser see the condition and photograph it. More useful than cleaning is having the list of improvements with dates and costs, and the permits, ready to hand over.
Can I give the appraiser comparable sales?
You can offer information; the appraiser decides what to use. A short list of recent nearby sales you believe are comparable, with a note on why (same builder, same model, same lot size), is reasonable to provide. Arguing the value is not; the appraiser's independence is the point of the appraisal.
Does a maintenance record raise the appraised value?
Not directly and not by a number anyone can promise. It supports the condition rating and it documents improvements that do count. An appraiser who can see that the roof is five years old from the invoice rates the roof differently from one who has to guess from the ground.
What should you do next?
Make the improvements list now, whether or not an appraisal is coming; it is the same list a buyer, an insurer, and the IRS want. If a refinance or a sale is on the horizon, walk the house for the safety items in the table this week: a missing handrail is the cheapest fix and the most common flag.