Discover The Value Of Your House
Just twelve months ago many homeowners had a pretty good idea of what their homes were worth, and after a decade of house price gains most were very happy with the level of equity that they had in their homes. However, over the past year home prices have been falling and this has resulted in many homeowners simply losing track of what their house might now be worth.
There are many reasons for the falling values of homes for homeowners, mainly being the current credit crunch, which will new house buyers off the market as there are no online mortgages available anymore.
Homeowners decide to try and find out the price of their home for one of a range of reasons. Some may simply be curious and want to know what their major asset is now worth; some may be concerned about falling into negative equity and want to check how their house value has been affected. Of course the main reasons why people try to find out the value of the house is either to put the house on the market for sale or because they are thinking about taking out a secured loan against the property and therefore need to find out the equity levels.
Many people simply call out the surveyor from their local estate agents to get a valuation. However, you need to remember that the valuation you get from one estate agent may not necessarily be accurate. For example, the estate agent may say that your home is worth less than it is in order to get a quick sale, or may value the property at more than it is worth in order to get increased commission if and when it does sell. This means that you could end up with a valuation that is not accurate.
It is therefore a good idea to get around three surveyors from different estate agents to come and look at the property in order to provide you with a valuation. Obviously, you should not mention that you have already been given a valuation, as otherwise each estate agent may base his or her valuation on the one that you have already received. Your aim should be to get a totally independent figure from each one so that you can see whether they all come to roughly the same conclusion with regards to the price of your home.
You can also help yourself further by doing your homework. All you need to do is check the prices of other houses for sale in your area that are similar to yours and see whether they are going for the same sort of price that the estate agent has valued your property at. By checking out the prices of other houses that are already for sale you can get an even better idea of the true price of your house.
Don’t be surprised if the price of your property is considerably lower than you may have anticipated, as house prices have been tumbling and many homeowners may have no idea how much their house value has dropped. If you plan to sell the house you should remember that if you inflate the asking price to way above the value of the property you are unlikely to be able to sell it in the current climate.
If your property does not sell at your desired price and you still have equity in your home, then secured loans could help to improve your current home removing the need to move. For more information on property prices and finding out your properties worth read the articles on try and buy your next home
Tags: homes, houses, housing market, mortgages, prices, property, real estate
Posted in Personal Finance
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