The first question that comes to mind when selling a house is often “what is my home worth?” Your first reaction is probably to search your home on Zillow and base the value of your home off of the Zestimate. However, Zillow is not always accurate, as it relies on an algorithm that is not aware of the current condition that your property is in. How can you roughly determine how much your home is worth without an appraisal? Let me show you!
ARV (After Repair Value)
First, you need to determine the sale price of your home if it was in perfect condition. This is called the After Repair Value (ARV) of your home, and it uses comparable properties to find this value.
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Zillow and Realtor.com are two free places to start your search for comparable properties. A big key with this is only using homes in the best condition, if possible to find. This is because you want to know the value of homes in your neighborhood if the maximum amount of repairs are completed. The best comparable property sales will have these similarities to your home:
- Same number of bedrooms
- Same number of bathrooms
- Built no more than 10 years apart
- No more than +/- 200 sqft
- Located no more than 0.5 miles apart
- Same property type (mobile home, SFH, etc.)
- Sold in the last year or less
If you try to find at least three property sales that fit these characteristics, you will have a more accurate ARV calculation. Then determine the PPSF (price per square foot) of the comparable properties, Zillow and Realtor.com will usually have this calculated for you already. Simply take the average of the best comparable properties PPSF or use your best judgment from this data to determine the PPSF of your property. Multiply the PPSF you decide upon by your homes square footage and you will have the ARV!
Gauge Repair Costs
Second, determine the cost of repairs to bring your home to the pristine condition we imagined it was in when we calculated the ARV. The biggest factors to analyze in the home that can drastically change repair costs are:
- Age/condition of roof
- Kitchen updated in the past 10 years
- Bathroom updated in the past 10 years
- Condition of property foundation
You can quickly fill out our seller form for a free repair estimate from us if you cannot confidently do this alone. Local contractor walkthroughs are another free way, most of the time, to establish an accurate repair estimate. If your repair estimate is significantly incorrect then so will your estimated current property value.
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Final Step to Determine Property Value
Now the easy part, to find how much your home is worth subtract your repairs costs from the ARV you calculated:
ARV - Repair Costs = Current Home Value
Understanding how much your home is worth is important when selling off-market as you will not have an agent and usually no appraisal to base your asking price on. Make it easy and free with Northstate Equity using this form. We will correctly determine the current value of your home and include a non-obligational offer!
DISCLAIMER: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.