Your home's value is an important detail when you are ready to sell your home, so you will want to establish a correct market value with a professional appraisal when you put your home on the market. However, you don't want to evaluate your home's value based on a poor physical condition without any updates, as these factors will affect the amount your home can sell for. Here are some recommendations for you to prepare your home for a professional home appraisal for an upcoming sale.

Work On Its Curb Appeal

One of the first things a potential buyer and your professional appraiser will see is your home's exterior. The yard, landscaping, pavement, siding, and roof are all part of your home's condition and will either bring down or raise its appraised value. So, before you have your home appraised or listed for sale, you should take some time and make the exterior and your yard look better. 

Mow your lawn and pull weeds to make sure the landscaping is neat; keep this up until you sell your home. If your pavement is dirty and stained, use a pressure washer to remove oil stains and other spots that will decrease its appearance. If you have asphalt pavement, look at applying a sealcoat to restore its look. If your exterior deck or railings need to be cleaned and stained or painted, make these updates before your appraisal appointment. 

Update the Interior

The inside of your home is equally important, so you should pick things up and clean to remove clutter and clean off areas. Have your carpets professionally cleaned or replace the flooring with a solid-surface flooring, which can boost your home's appraisal value. Then, look at cleaning the interior walls and painting them to restore their surfaces. Replace any aging appliances in your kitchen with new ones to add value to your home's appraisal. 

If your kitchen cabinets are aging, you can paint them to restore their finish. Also look at replacing the hardware on the cabinets and doorknobs to give the inside of your home an updated look. You can also replace your kitchen and bathroom faucets to replace any cracked and stained hardware with shiny new ones.

Make Sure Home Systems Work

Another important item to address before your appraisal is to make sure all your home's systems work. The appraiser is going to check that they all work in their assessment, so make sure your HVAC system, electrical outlets and switches, and your garage door opener, for example, are all working well.

Contact a real estate appraiser to learn more.