Bahamas Real Estate Appraisals - What You Need to Know

If you're selling Bahamas real estate, an appraisal is crucial for establishing the market value.

Banks the the Bahamas have a list of approved appraisers. These real estate appraisers are able to access data to comparable sales, which along with other factors, helps them determine the true value.

Appraisers are happy to factor any information you can provide about your Bahamas real estate to generate a more accurate report. As a seller, list the best features of your home, including recent improvements, professional landscaping, or even benefits of your location (such as avoiding traffic hassles and ease of access - i.e. shortcuts - to nearby schools).

While you won't necessarily be graded for your housekeeping skills, real estate appraisers do pay attention to the very appearance and cleanliness of your home. You can positively affect your appraisal's outcome if your lawn is mowed and raked, your windows sparkle and your closets look spacious. Appraisers are almost looking through a purchaser's eyes, so pretend you're preparing for an open house before their arrival.

It would be helpful to provide a copy of the Bahamas real estate appraisal to a potential purchaser. Purchasers can only consider a home if it's within an appraised value they can afford. Also, there is ABSOLUTELY no point in listing your home at a higher figure than the appraised value. Almost all purchasers need a mortgage and they are not going to pay above the appraised value!

An important question to ask when pricing your home is: Would you pay above the appraised value for the property? And, more to the point, would a bank lend above the appraised value?

Of course, in both cases the answer is No.