Do You Know What your Home is Really Worth?

Most people know how much money they have in their savings or current account and how their stocks are doing but few people know how to determine the value of their single largest asset-their homes.
The most common reason to assess the value of your home is to price it for sale. You may also want to know the value for insurance or tax purposes or even to get a home-equity loan or line of credit.
Different kinds of appraisals yield different results. While many of us go on line to check for information, appraising your home in this manner does not give an accurate picture.

Credit: "The Bottom Line, May 2002

Ways to Assess the Value of Your Home

• Tax Bill
  Check your most recent tax bill and look for the assessed value. As a rule this represents a % of the actual market value which may have increased since its last assessment.
• Newspaper Listings
  This will give you an idea of what homeowners in your neighborhood are asking for their homes. Remember this "asking" price represents what a homeowner "wishes " to get and may not reflect the actual "selling" price of the home.
• Hire an Appraiser
  The appraiser considers the size, style and condition of the property and compares it to recent sales of similar homes in the neighborhood. It takes 3 to 6 months for a sale or deed to be recorded in the public records.
• Consult a Realtor
  Request a Comparative Market Analysis from a real estate professional in your neighborhood. A realtor has access to current contracts and sales in your immediate market .A CMA compares your house with similar ones on the market during a specific period. This data, combined with the value of upgrades, will give you an accurate picture of your homes worth. Remember, that your personalized CMA is a "snapshot" captured in time. The real estate market constantly fluctuates so it is a good idea to obtain a new one every year.

Are You Really Ready to Buy a Home?

We are currently in a very strong sales market, a market where demand exceeds supply. It is important for you, the potential buyer to recognize this fact and to be prepared when you start your search for a home.
Before you even look for a home you should sit down with a mortgage consultant to determine how much a lender will give you and more importantly how much that will cost you per month. The consultant should check your credit, determine the amount of money they will lend you and then issue you a pre-qualification letter stating the amount they are prepared to lend you. Then and only then are you ready to look for a home. Most sellers today require a pre-qualification letter with an offer.

Steps to purchasing your home