Zillow Advice: Investing - How can I find out the value of my home?

You have gotten great advice ...

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:32:00 GMT

You have gotten great advice from your answers below, and the bottom line, you must choose between no cost options, which are just estimates and fairly open to error, or paying $300-$350 and getting an appraisal that is considered much more accurate.
A CMA with a great local Realtor if you are considering selling should be fine to price your home. If you are trying to guage your value for a refinance, then I suggest you post a mortgage quote request, and your mortgage lender can get approximated values for you as well. During the refinance process, the lender will order and appraisal, and you are entitled to a copy of that appraisal.
I hope this helped, best of luck, Jim.

The cheapest way to do it ...

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:45:00 GMT

The cheapest way to do it is put your faith in a CMA from an agent. Start with that - and do your own research.

Any closings outside of 120 are useless in today's fast moving environment.

Mguns,What is your goal? ...

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:13:00 GMT

Mguns,

What is your goal? Are you thinking of selling? If you are serious I would strongly recommend you retain a well qualifed, highly experienced and objective real estate appraiser and in your specific geographic location.

Today, proper valuation is critical.
Hope this helps,
Bill McInerney

You can use Zillow and other ...

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:09:00 GMT

You can use Zillow and other online sites as atool to get a general idea but I would not use them to base your final decisions on. If you want a genral idea of where you stand you can usually get a ball [ark idea on Zillow but it is far from perfect and often will have info that has not been updated yet. Becareful depending solel on any one site. Good luck.

Go online first ..Zillow ...

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:19:00 GMT

Go online first ..Zillow is a good place to do that. Find similar homes that recently sold in your neighborhood. Visit Open Houses in your neighborhood and talk to the agents. Take note of upgrades, if any, or add on features such as a pool, additional bath room or bedroom, the age of the home, etc ...basically educate yourself as to what's out in the market place. This will give you a fair idea of values in your market place and neighborhood.
Determine the values by number of bedrooms, square foot and age, and add or subtract values for add ons, upgrades, etc. Keep in mind that newer homes have more appeal than older homes...

Then consult with several Realtors. Your pricing should not be too far off if you didn't get bogged down with the Seller Syndrome. My house is worth more)...Keep your emotions out of the pricing equation.

Selling Tip: In this market, irrespective of how old your home is, fix it up....freshen it up, new paint, new carpet, if you keep pets or a smoker. You have to WOW the Buyer. Bear in mind that value is in the eyes of the beholder.

Two choices...one is to hire ...

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:28:00 GMT

Two choices...one is to hire an appraiser and pay the $375 to know Exactly where you are at so you don't start too high and never sell it.

Second is to have a Realtor come over and do a CMA for you...

What you will find if you have 3 different Realtor's do a CMA is that you will have three different amounts for value more than likely...Which one is right? Which one is too low and wants to give the home away? Which one wants to buy the listing and tell you your number to get it listed and then work and work to get you to come down...

I can tell you this...in this market you have to start out a little below the current market value to get it sold Before things go down any more.You sell yours and the others in the area sit because they choose the other route...the start to high and then chase the market down....it usually results in hard feelings on both sides when the agent gives in and lists the home too high...

Regards

Rick Goates

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Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:19:00 GMT

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A CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) is the best way to see what the likely value is for your home.

Steve Taylor

Get mulitple CMA's from agents ...

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:08:00 GMT

Get mulitple CMA's from agents in your area. You can also call your loan officer and have them get an estimate appraisal from their appraisal company.Â

Zillow doesn't do appraisals ...

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:57:00 GMT

Zillow doesn't do appraisals or give market values, but you can get a Zestimate, recently sold houses in the area and more neighborhood trends like the ZindexÂ hereÂ Type your address in the "Find Homes" box, hit the blue GO button and the neighborhood map and house should come up if Zillow has it available. Zillow is a good place to start researching a home's value. If you need more recent information you can contact an agent for a CMA or hire an appraiser to help.

Hello, the best way would ...

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:52:00 GMT

Hello, the best way would be to request a CMA from an agent in your area. CMA, will show the latest homes sales in your area and allow you to compare your home size, and value delivered with other homes that sold in the market. Also, in this economy, it's worth looking at currently listed homes, to evaluate how long are they listed and potentially why they are not selling to avoid the same mistake why listing your home.

Of course, you can view high level overview of market values at zillow.com

Hope that helps, Mag