Get The Right Value On Your Home

By Author: Alisdair Cosgrove
Total Articles: 184
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Just twelve months ago many homeowners had a pretty good idea of what their properties 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 house prices have been falling and this has resulted in many homeowners simply losing track of what their property might now be worth.

In the current turbulent climate it is a good idea to try and find out what your assets are actually worth, so getting an idea of the value of your home can provide valuable. Of course, you may have a specific reason for needing to find out what your property is worth. For example, you may be toying with the idea of putting your home up for sale and want to find out what you might get for it. Alternatively, you may need to find out the value of the property because you are thinking of taking out a loan that is secured against the equity in your home.

Of course, there is little point in getting your home valued unless you can be certain that the valuation you receive is an accurate one. Although you can easily contact a local estate agent to ...
... come and value the property you may find that you do not get an accurate valuation from just one estate agent, as the valuation may be too high or too low depending on whether the estate agent is prioritising on getting a higher level of commission or a quicker sale on your home.

This is why it is a good idea to get a valuation from around three different estate agents in the area. Once you have received the figure from each estate agent you can compare them to see whether the valuations are vastly different from each agent or pretty much the same sort of figure. You should not let on that you have already had a valuation to the second and third estate agents otherwise you may find that they provide a valuation based on the one that you have already received rather than a totally independent valuation.

Many local papers advertise properties for sale, and it is also a good idea to check out the local paper and see what price properties that are similar to yours in your area are being sold for. You can also do this online on one of the property websites, and this will enable you to see whether the value on similar properties is along the same lines as the valuations you have received on your own property.

Don't be surprised if the value of your home is considerably lower than you may have anticipated, as house prices have been tumbling and many homeowners may have no idea how much their property value has dropped. If you plan to sell the home you should remember that if you inflate the asking price to way above the value of the home you are unlikely to be able to sell it in the current climate.
Alisdair Cosgrove has been writing finance and mortgage related articles for many years and can find more of his information at the UK site Glitec.co.uk, offering online loans and also a great deals on homeowner loans. Visit Glitec.co.uk today for a great mortgage and loan offer and to read more articles from Alisdair.