By: Las Vegas Now Staff
Foreclosed homes bring down the average value of homes in every neighborhood. So many homeowners who'd like to sell are left wondering just how much their homes are really worth.
Take a look around your neighborhood and you'll likely find a foreclosed home. That has many homeowners wondering just how much their property is worth.
“If you have a lot of foreclosures and short sales going on in your particular market, then your value goes down,” said Mike Brunson with Ascent Appraisal.
Right now, it's a buyers market. But what if you are trying to sell your home? Even if you've always been on time with your payments and have never defaulted on your mortgage, foreclosures are affecting you, “The best advice, if you don't have to sell, don't sell.”
Brunson has been an appraiser since the mid 90's. He's seen more and more homeowners watch their home values drop because of foreclosures in their neighborhood, “People don't have control over the value of their homes, the market does. It's supply and demand. A lot of what I hear people talking about is my house is worth more than what the current market reflects.”
Brunson says now is not the time to add extras to your home for the sake of trying to sell, “That pool can be more of a marketing factor instead of a value factor and pools are worthless in this market.”
The same goes for remodeling. UNLV Professor Dr. Alan Schlottmann has studied housing trends for more than 20 years. He says appraisers are not the bearer of bad news, they're just doing their jobs, “Appraisers have to follow rules and the levels in the details. It's the rules which we have to value the homes.”
Experts say since the majority of the sales market is being run by foreclosed homes, if you can wait to sell your house, that's your best option right now. If you can't, be prepared to get less for your home, and don't bother with any upgrades.
 |
 |
