Original content published March 18, 2025. Updated August 12, 2026.
Most homeowners get about a week of notice before an appraisal. Then the questions start. Do I need to be home? Should I deep clean? Does the chipped paint in the hallway count against me?
Here is the useful version. Your goal is not to impress the appraiser. It is to make sure they can get into every room, take accurate measurements, and see the improvements you have made, including the ones that are not obvious from a walkthrough. Work you cannot document is work that cannot show up in the report.
This guide covers what appraisers look at, a checklist you can work through in an afternoon, and answers to the questions we get most.
The Quick Checklist
If you only have an hour, do these:
- Unlock every interior door, gate, shed, and crawlspace
- Clear the path to the attic access, furnace, water heater, and electrical panel
- Put pets somewhere secure
- Write a one page list of improvements with dates and rough costs
- Gather permits, service records, and receipts for major work
- Replace burned out bulbs and missing outlet covers
- Run every faucet and check for active drips or slow drains
- Mow, trim, and clear the walkways
- Move cars out of the driveway and garage
The rest of this guide explains why each of these matters and what else to handle if you have more time.
What Do Appraisers Look For?
This is the question people search for most, so let’s answer it directly. An appraiser is documenting the physical characteristics of your property so they can compare it to recent sales of similar homes. That means:
Size and layout. Exterior measurements, above grade square footage, room count, and how the space is arranged. Below grade finished space is usually reported separately from above grade living area.
Condition. Overall upkeep and any deferred maintenance that is visible. They are not inspecting your systems in depth. They are noting what a reasonable observer would see.
Quality of construction and materials. Cabinetry, flooring, countertops, windows, roofing. Age and general grade, not brand names.
Functional utility. Whether the layout works, whether rooms are accessible, whether anything about the floor plan is unusual for the market.
Improvements and updates. Kitchens, baths, additions, finished basements, mechanical replacements, energy systems.
Site characteristics. Lot size, topography, views, easements, outbuildings, and anything about the location that affects marketability.
Photographs. Every main living area gets photographed. This is a standard requirement, not a judgment about your housekeeping.
What they are not doing: testing your systems, opening walls, evaluating whether your paint color is in style, or looking for reasons to arrive at a particular number.
An Appraisal Is Not an Inspection
Worth clearing up, because the two get confused constantly.
An inspection evaluates the condition of the home in detail for the buyer’s benefit. The inspector is on their hands and knees in the crawlspace.
An appraisal is an independent opinion of market value, developed by a licensed or certified appraiser and supported by market data. Condition is one input among several. The appraiser is analyzing your local market as much as your house.
Appraisers are also independent by design. They do not work for you, the buyer, the agent, or the lender’s sales team, and they are not permitted to work toward a target number.
Appraisals happen for mortgages, but also for estate settlement, divorce, property tax appeals, pre listing decisions, and gifting. Most of the prep below applies either way.
What to Do Before an Appraisal
Gather your documents
Put everything in one folder and hand it over when the appraiser arrives. This is the highest value thing on the list.
- A one page summary of improvements with approximate dates and costs
- Permits for additions, conversions, or structural work
- Property survey and floor plans if you have them
- Service records for HVAC, roof, and mechanical systems
- Receipts or invoices for major recent work
- HOA documents and fee information if applicable
The improvements that get missed are the ones you cannot see. A finished basement is obvious. A rebuilt retaining wall, a replaced sewer line, new attic insulation, or a French drain is not. Write those down.
If you have solar panels, geothermal, or other energy features, include the ownership or lease paperwork, system specs, and any certifications such as HERS ratings or Energy Star documentation. Owned and leased systems are analyzed differently, and the appraiser needs the paperwork either way.
Open up the house
The appraiser has to reach and photograph the whole property. Anything they cannot access becomes a limitation noted in the report.
- Attic and crawlspace entries, cleared of storage
- Furnace, water heater, and electrical panel
- Basement, including finished areas
- Garage, including behind vehicles
- Sheds, detached structures, and outbuildings
- Every bedroom and bathroom, unlocked
- The full exterior perimeter, so measurements are not obstructed
Unlock gates. Secure pets. Clear a walking path. It sounds obvious and it is the single most common problem on appraisal day.
Check the systems
You are looking for anything visibly not working, not doing a full tune up.
Plumbing. Run every fixture. Note slow drains, low pressure, active drips. Visible leaks and water staining are the items most likely to get documented.
Electrical. Test switches and outlets. Replace missing outlet covers. Make sure no wiring is exposed. These are small fixes that read as safety observations if left alone.
HVAC. Confirm it runs in both heating and cooling. Change the filter. Include service records in your folder. Age and functional status are standard report fields.
Water heater. Confirm it works and is accessible. Some jurisdictions require strapping.
Handle visible condition and safety items
Deferred maintenance you already know about is worth addressing:
- Peeling or chipped paint, especially on older homes
- Damaged or missing roof shingles
- Cracked stucco, siding, or exterior walls
- Rotted wood at trim, decks, or window frames
- Damaged drywall and cracked tile
- Loose handrails at stairs and decks
- Broken windows or windows that will not open
- Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, per local code
- GFCI outlets in bathrooms and kitchens
For FHA and VA loans, federal agencies set minimum property condition standards. Items outside those standards may need to be addressed and documented before the transaction can move forward. Your lender can tell you which standards apply, and requirements vary by program and jurisdiction.
Clean up the exterior
The exterior is where the appraiser starts and what appears in the first photos of the report.
Mow, trim, clear debris, tidy the walkways. Address anything that reads as active deterioration rather than normal wear: sagging gutters, standing water at the foundation, a fence section down.
For the roof, they are assessing general condition from the ground. Shingle wear, obvious sagging, visible flashing issues. If you have had recent roof work, that paperwork goes in the folder.
Room-by-Room Checklist
Kitchen. Note the age and condition of cabinets, counters, and appliances. Have remodel documentation ready, including permits if the layout changed.
Bathrooms. Confirm fixtures drain, exhaust fans work, caulk and grout are intact.
Living areas. Leave enough space to move through, photograph, and reach windows and corners. Floors should be visible.
Bedrooms. Whether a room counts as a bedroom depends on local requirements, which typically involve egress and closet considerations. If you converted a space, have the permit.
Basement. Have documentation for any finishing work. Below grade square footage is generally reported separately from above grade living area.
What Does Not Change Your Appraisal
Being straight with you, because a lot of advice online suggests otherwise.
Baking cookies does not help. Fresh flowers do not help. Staging does not help. New light fixtures installed the week before do not change a value opinion, and neither does a deep clean. Appraisers walk through hundreds of homes a year and are looking past all of it.
What genuinely matters is that nothing gets missed. Accurate measurements, a full set of photos, documentation of the work you cannot see, and no access limitations in the report. That part is entirely in your control, and it is the reason this checklist exists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I be home during the appraisal?
You can be, and many homeowners are. Be available for questions, then let them work. Following them room to room narrating features slows things down.
Do I need to clean before an appraisal?
Tidy enough that rooms are accessible and photographable. A deep clean is not necessary. Clutter that blocks access or measurement is the actual issue.
How long does a home appraisal take?
The on site portion is usually shorter than people expect, often under an hour for a straightforward single family home, longer for larger or more complex properties. Most of the work happens afterward while the appraiser researches comparable sales and writes the report. Total turnaround depends on property complexity, market conditions, and appraiser availability in your area.
How much does an appraisal cost?
Fees vary by market, property type, and complexity. Complex, rural, or unique properties cost more than a typical suburban home. On a purchase or refinance, the fee is generally disclosed by your lender.
Should I make repairs before the appraisal?
Address visible deferred maintenance and safety items. Skip cosmetic upgrades done purely for the appraisal.
Can I give the appraiser a list of improvements?
Yes, and you should. A one page summary with dates and costs is useful and appropriate. What is not appropriate is suggesting a target value.
What if the appraiser cannot get into a room?
They document the limitation in the report. Avoid it by unlocking everything ahead of time.
Does a messy yard affect the appraisal?
Normal wear is expected. Active deterioration gets noted. There is a difference between grass that needs mowing and a collapsed fence.
Working With Banks Valuation
Banks Valuation completes appraisals for lending and non lending purposes across residential and specialty property types, including estate, divorce, tax appeal, and pre listing assignments. If you have questions about what an assignment involves or what documentation would help in your situation, our team can walk you through it
