Home apprisal/Real estate ?

[msmama]

I am looking into refinancing and/or moving (haven't thought long and hard, yet obviously).

I have a fairly good guess at what the house is worth, and it's pretty close to what Zillow estimates, but I know I'd need a real appraisal in order to re-fi.

Is that something the bank does? Can I call a realtor and just ask them to come take a look at my house and tell me what it's worth?

I've been looking at houses on the MLS but would need to see a few in person before deciding if I even want to consider moving. Will an agent take me to see a handful of houses with me not even knowing if I want to sell/move? Is that just part of the deal?

Any of this going to cost me lots of money? (I know the refi will cost a fair, bit, but what about the other stuff).

Thanks!

 

[dfchelbay]

I am looking into refinancing and/or moving (haven't thought long and hard, yet obviously).

I have a fairly good guess at what the house is worth, and it's pretty close to what Zillow estimates, but I know I'd need a real appraisal in order to re-fi.

Is that something the bank does? Can I call a realtor and just ask them to come take a look at my house and tell me what it's worth?

I've been looking at houses on the MLS but would need to see a few in person before deciding if I even want to consider moving. Will an agent take me to see a handful of houses with me not even knowing if I want to sell/move? Is that just part of the deal?

Any of this going to cost me lots of money? (I know the refi will cost a fair, bit, but what about the other stuff).

Thanks!

Whomever you call to do the re-fi with is who will hire the appraiser. If you look on zillow, you can see what the houses are selling for. They are in yellow. What's going on in the market will have an effect on your home's value. Zillow will say your estimate is lets say $309,000, but all the houses within a mile are going for $229,000 - $249,000. The bank will have all that data too. It will all go into what they appraise your house at. Zillow says my house is worth about $50,000 less than what smaller homes are actually selling for in my neighborhood. I have a larger house, bigger yard, etc. So, I know their figures a little off. I'd contact a real estate agent ans see if they will help you. Go to open houses, ask that homeowners agent.

 

[Tinkerbelle99]

Working with a Realtor would be a great place to start. They can do a market analysis on your home, which takes into consideration the features/condition and compares them with comparable homes that are currently on the market and those that have recently sold. This is will give you a fare expectation on what your homes sale value is. This is what a Realtor does for perspective sellers. Just let the Realtor know your intentions up front, that way there is no awkwardness (if you decide not to list or go with another Realtor, etc.).

I have found Zillow to be "off" in their estimates more often than not.

I am a Realtor, so maybe I am a little bias

Honestly, going to house showings with a client that
Has no intention to buy would be tough for an agent to do. However I would be willing to pull some listings for a client to review.

Shop around for your re-fi, rates and fees will vary.

 

[Melrosgirl]

Zillow is only for giving sale prices (what something sold for). Usually those are right. Right now they are showing two houses on my street. $200,000 apart in value. (500 square foot difference).

We just did a refi. The bank will hire the appraiser. Appraisers give a much more accurate representation of what a house is worth. Realtors are almost always higher.

 

[Kay1]

When we refinanced through Wells Fargo I know they started with a Zillow estimate, just to get a ball park figure to see if it was going to work out. I know because the agent mentioned he was having a hard time getting Zillow to work.

Maybe you should try both. Call your bank to ask about the re-fi and call a realtor to discuss other possibilites. They'll both know the routine and help you along.

 

[Disnydad]

Zillow is not a good reference. We purchased a house in Florida back in October 2010. Zillow is still showing it as for sale with an asking price of $124,900. The asking price was $109,900 and we closed paying $90,000 almost 3 months ago.

 

[clutter]

I am looking into refinancing and/or moving (haven't thought long and hard, yet obviously).

I have a fairly good guess at what the house is worth, and it's pretty close to what Zillow estimates, but I know I'd need a real appraisal in order to re-fi.

Is that something the bank does? Can I call a realtor and just ask them to come take a look at my house and tell me what it's worth?

Yes. Provided that you are willing to consider them if you decide to move. Is there a realtor that lists a lot of houses in your neighborhood? Call them, as they have a really good idea of the values in your neighborhood. In any event, I'd call an agent that you've seen listing in your neighborhood.

I've been looking at houses on the MLS but would need to see a few in person before deciding if I even want to consider moving. Will an agent take me to see a handful of houses with me not even knowing if I want to sell/move? Is that just part of the deal?

It is part of the deal, kind of. I'd talk to some agents about the value of your home and have them give you ideas of where you can look to move to. If you pick a couple of houses that are vacant, it's easier to see them. Or go to some open houses in the neighborhoods you're targeting.
Any of this going to cost me lots of money? (I know the refi will cost a fair, bit, but what about the other stuff).

Yes. Moving will cost you money. A refi can cost you $0 out of pocket, if you roll your closing costs into your loan. A move is never cheap. Do you have enough equity, after comission and some fix-up costs, to put 20% down on your new home? Moving itself will cost money. New homes will cost, as they are never perfect. Maybe a window treatment here, a coat of paint there. You will find yourself spending more on making your new house a home. (Trust me on this one...) OTOH, it could be worth it, depending on what you're looking for. You have a child, right? Make sure you move to a place that you will like the schools thru high school. I recently moved for a host of reasons. But it was not cheap. Thanks!

Hoep this helps.

 

[ccgirl]

I am a realtor as well. Have you checked out open houses in the area you want to move to? Since you are so unsure I would do that. Out of curiosity; why are you decided between re-fi vs. selling? If you are really unsure, I would not have a realtor take you around. I would look at open houses. As others have said, zillow is not usually a good comparison. You could contact a mortgage agent and they can pull your credit report and tell you what rate you would qualify for and how much your potential mortgage will be? Good luck.

 

[tlbwriter]

A realtor can tell you what your house is worth, but not for refinancing purposes. You also might be able to check some comparable houses on your own (this is helpful if you live in an addition where all of the houses are of similar age and 'grade" and there have been recent sales). In my state, I can call the county assessor's office and they'll give me the most recent selling price of any house.