Find Out What to Expect from House Appraisals When Buying or Selling a House in Texas
Home appraisals can give you better insight into the value of a house. Whether you’re buying or selling a property, that can mean that the home appraisal could end up advancing the deal or interfering with it, depending on the results. In fact, get this — industry experts say that appraisal issues disrupted roughly 7% of all house sales in the U.S. last year.
To understand why and help your next real estate transaction go smoothly, this guide on house appraisals goes over key facts, sharing answers to common buyer and seller questions, including:
- What Is a Home Appraisal?
- What Happens During a House Appraisal?
- What Should I Look for in the Home Appraisal Report?
- How Much Do House Appraisals Cost in Texas?
- What Else Do I Need to Know About Home Appraisals?
If you have more questions about appraisals or need help navigating the closing process as a homebuyer or seller in Texas, contact an experienced Realtor® at New Home Gurus.
What Is a Home Appraisal?
A house appraisal is a professional assessment of the value of a home and the property it sits on. Conducted by licensed professionals, home appraisals are typically required for financing (or refinancing) to verify:
- How much a house is worth: The appraisal will quantify home value via a price, basing the amount on the location, condition, and features of a house.
- Whether the purchase price is reasonable: Buyers and lenders will typically want to know this information before closing on the house.
What Happens During a House Appraisal?
Once a seller accepts a buyer’s offer and the home inspection has been completed, the mortgage lender will typically order the appraisal. With that, the appraisal will be scheduled, with the process generally going as follows:
- The appraiser visits the property: During this visit, the appraiser will inspect the inside and outside of the home, looking at the size, space, layout, and features, as well as the condition, structural issues, and safety concerns. As part of this visit, the appraiser will usually take measurements and pictures of the property, detailing these in their final report.
- The appraiser reviews records: This step focuses on comparable properties, MLS records, and recent local home sales to start to establish the “going rate” for similar homes in the area.
- The appraiser selects a valuation approach to figure out the property value: Depending on the situation, the appraiser may decide to go with a cost approach, an income approach, or a sales comparison approach.
- The appraiser issues a report: Explaining the findings, the appraisal report will include photos of the home, details of comps used, the valuation method chosen, and more, concluding with the price at which the property is valued.
All this can happen with little need for buyers or sellers to be involved, aside from the sellers granting property access.
What Should I Look for in the Home Appraisal Report?
Whether you’re buying or selling a house, it’s generally in your best interests to go over the appraisal report with your Realtor®, so you don’t miss any details and so you know exactly what you’re looking at (and what it means for you).
With that in mind, here are some key aspects of home appraisal reports to keep an eye out for:
- Correct and complete information: Is the address correct? Does it look like any information is or could be missing? Though many appraisals are carefully reviewed before they get to your hands, some could end up with errors or oversights on relatively basic info. Make sure you’re actually looking at complete and accurate information before you dig into the details.
- Property value: What is the “appraised value” of the house? That will be a dollar amount that’s often in bold on at least two different pages of the report.
- Valuation details: What comps were used? What valuation method was applied? Does it all “add up” and make sense? The answers to these questions can give you a better sense of how the appraiser came to the value (s)he did.
If you spot any errors or problems with the appraisal report, talk to your Realtor® and your lender. While some errors may be simple mistakes that can be easily fixed, others may be more questionable and could require a second home appraisal.
How Much Do House Appraisals Cost in Texas?
House appraisals in Texas tend to cost between $400 and $700 as of 2024.
That’s slightly higher than the national average appraisal cost, which is roughly $300 to $650. Still, it’s crucial to know that the costs of home appraisals in Texas generally vary by:
- Appraiser experience
- The size of the property being appraised
- Whether the property has any special features
Buyers will typically cover the costs of the appraisal as part of the closing costs. However, sellers may agree to pay for appraisal costs under certain conditions.
What Else Do I Need to Know About Home Appraisals?
Home appraisals in Texas usually take about 1 to 2 weeks to complete. Additionally, appraisal values can be challenged if you have “evidence” to support the higher value.
Beyond that, there may be a lot more that’s important for you to know about home appraisals, depending on your circumstances and objectives. That’s where the experienced Realtors® at New Home Gurus come in.
We guide, advise, and support home sellers and buyers through the home sale and closing process, assisting with offers, contingencies, negotiations, inspections, appraisals, and so much more. Plus, we split our commission with our clients at closing.
Home sellers and buyers who work with New Home Gurus can get back an average of $4,500 to $12,000 at closing.
How Much Cash Can You Get After Closing?
Call (281) 668-8124 or Contact Us to Find Out Now
We are standing by, ready to answer your questions and explain the details of our commission-sharing program.