Home Appraisal -- How Neat & Clean Does My House Need to Be?

While I agree with most of the posts..I really do think you would want to make a good impression especially if pictures are going to be taken. For someone who's been fighting to lower my property taxes...I am finding that the entire process of appraising and assessing is still human judgement meaning subjective..

No it does not.
They don't look at how 'neat' a home is.
They look at the home.... the structure of it and its integrity and square footage etc., damages or not, if the building is up to code etc.

When we got appraised, I was surprised because the appraiser took pictures of EVERYTHING, even inside closets.

Mind you, I don't live in a pig sty but I was not prepared for my closets which are not organized well to be photographed!

The contents of the house do not add to or take away from the appraisel. The appraisel is for the structure.

Not very. We gave our appraiser access to the basement but she was really quick. She tallied the bedrooms, bathrooms, looked at the ceilings, walked around the outside and was done in less than 30 minutes. I was a lot faster than I thought it would be. The appraiser is looking at the house, not the stuff in it.

appraisals are based of the square footage and acreage of your house and land it has nothing to do with the cleanliness of your house relax

pride of ownership is important...not a super clean spotless house but a nicely kept house is good

I know that it is not SUPPOSED to factor into the appraisal, but I have a feeling that there is SOME part of the appraiser's sub-conscious that might influence the number a bit according to cleanliness.

To be safe, I'd do a good deep-cleaning and de-cluttering prior to it.

Also, not sure about other places, but we have had 3 appraisals in the past 5 years and the appraiser ALWAYS came inside the home. And yes, they do now take pictures of every room, as there was a huge amount of fraud taking place.

They don't care how messy it is. Even needing paint doesn't factor much. Both are easy and pretty much inexpensive fixes. What they are looking for is structural problems, holes in walls, missing stuff, ya know things that are expensive to fix. They are also checking if it is up to code.

Okay and then would it actually sell, does it flow well, stuff like that.

Ahh you live out where my uncle and cousin live. :)

We just had our reappraisal done for a refinance. The only time we could coordinate schedules was the day after the fourth of July holiday. We went camping that weekend and our appointment was for 9 a.m. My house isn't a mess, but it was definitely NOT spotless. They looked mostly outside. They measured and noted the flooring in each room. They also took some pictures. When I apologized for the messy state (some camping gear was still out) she assured me that cleanliness is not a factor. She said her job had much more to do with the structural integrity of the home. And the messiness factor definitely didn't show up on the report. :)

it doesn't...

the appraiser needs access to all the rooms, attic, crawl space, basement, etc. so they can see all the space...walls, etc. so they get a proper assessment of the property...

The room size and access to areas is the most important. Any defects should be taken care of. We had an appraisal a few years ago. The overall condition of the property is more important than making sure your kids have nothing on the floor or the curtains washed. Of course, if you were selling, that would be a different story. The comps will give an accurate appraisal vs the cleanest house.

Oh my, I sure hope it doesn't. We recently had our house appraised and I completely forgot about the appointment and was out with my two kids. I had told the real estate agent, who has a key...to let herself in if I wasn't home. Our house usually isn't that messy but this time it was a disaster, I was so embarrassed. The appraisal seemed right but I always wonder :)

I'm probably too late in answering, but it factors in very little. They are basically looking at the square footage and the structure of the house.

Your house needs to be neat enough for them to see the structure and any improvements you've made to the it- it doesn't need to be perfect. THey use a computer program and just plug in the values- tidiness is not one of them. A spic and span house will not gain you a higher appraisal. They are more concerned with structural things such as lot size, square footage, age/condition of roof, double paned windows or not, condition of exterior and sometimes interior (this refers to damage - not whether you pressure washed the dirt off your house lately) and any significant, non decorative improvements. Good luck with your refinance!

We just had our home appraised for a refinance. They take pictures so having it neat helps if you get embarassed easily! It doesn't matter in how they calculate the value of your home though.

Not at all. They rarely come into your house. They are looking at square footage and structural issues.

They care about square footage, upgrades and structural features. Make sure that all of those things are visible and accessible. Other than that, it's not a factor at all.

I have heard that it does matter. First of all, the appraiser is human. He can't help but be effected. Also, I was told that the way a house looks, as far as tidiness goes, shows him how well maintained your house probably is. If it is a pit, most likely, basic things aren't getting done that could lead to bigger problems. But, if your house is clean, details tended to (no cobwebs in the corners), most likely you are taking care of other more unnoticeable matters. Anyway, that's what I have heard.

appraisals are done on the basis of sq feet.. deck no deck garage no garage... rooms... etc.. not tidiness.