Are Appraisals Reliable?

What are appraisals? How reliable are they? Should you have one done before you list your home? These are all common questions that I wanted to clear up.

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Today I wanted to talk about appraisals. What are they? How reliable are they? Should you have one done before you put your home on the market?

An appraisal is just an opinion of value.

To put it bluntly, an appraisal is simply an educated opinion of value in the marketplace. The appraiser has constraints within which they have to work, so they come up with an opinion of value for a home.

How reliable is it? Not very. If you watch real estate ads, you'll see homes coming in thousands below appraisal. Why? Because appraisers missed the price!

Finally, should you have an appraisal done before you put your home on the market? You can if you’d like, but I'll say this: I wouldn't, because the only opinion that really counts is the market's opinion.

If you have any questions for me about appraisals or about the Atlanta real estate market, give me a call on my cell phone. I'm happy to help!

Maintaining Your Heating and Cooling Systems

With summer nearly over, I’m sure you (like me) have been reminded just how much we use our air conditioning. Soon, in the winter, you’ll also be reminded of how often you use the furnace, too.

It’s one of the major systems in your home, and a surprise issue with one of these systems can be a nightmare if handled improperly. That’s why I wanted to share a video from Angie’s List that I recently saw about proper maintenance of your heating and cooling systems.

If either unit is having issues, did you know you can actually hire technicians who are specially trained to work on certain brands? For example, if you have a Trane system, you can find a tech who is trained specifically to work on Trane products.

Secondly, always remember to get a second opinion when someone recommends that you replace a system because oftentimes a repair will do. You want to be certain when it comes to a part of your home that should last 20 years, especially considering the cost of a replacement.

"...be proactive with service on these systems."

Unfortunately, as the video points out, there are a lot of people out there in that deal in these systems and prey on customers that don’t know any better. If you’re hiring a company, you should investigate them by checking out their web reviews or social media pages. 

Also, be proactive with service on these systems. If you wait until the system is broken down and needs repair to get it checked out, you’re now at their mercy. 

As always, for any real estate questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to answer them for you!