Should I Get an Appraisal Before Listing My Home for Sale?

The other day a client, Bob, asked me if he should get an appraisal of the value of his house before placing it on the open market. I told Bob that he could pay around $500 for an appraisal. It’s important to you to know the current market value of your house BEFORE offering it for sale. And, in Bob’s case, getting that accurate information was important to him. To pay $500 to get that information is money that he doesn’t need to spend because an experienced real estate agent could provide him with the current market value of the house – for free.

When considering selling a house, your best steps are:

1. Interview and choose a good San Diego real estate agent
2. Ask your San Diego real estate agent for their opinion and a list of recommended cost-effective repairs
3. Determine the current market value of the house, complete the repairs and then get it on the market

My recommendation, instead of spending $500 on an appraisal, put that money towards increasing the value of the house through cost-effective repairs to ultimately increase the San Diego homebuyer interest.