The highest-impact things to do before a house appraisal are fixing the small deferred maintenance an appraiser will flag, pulling together documentation of every improvement they can’t see on a walkthrough, and making sure every room, system, and crawlspace is accessible with the utilities on. Most of the work costs nothing but a weekend, and the items that cost money are repairs you would eventually make anyway. The goal is simple: give a trained stranger clear evidence that your home is well-maintained, functional, and worth what you need it to be worth.
What the Appraiser Is Actually Doing
The physical visit usually runs from 30 minutes to a few hours. During that time the appraiser walks every accessible room, measures the exterior to confirm square footage, photographs the interior and exterior from multiple angles, and tests systems like faucets, light switches, and HVAC. They count bedrooms and bathrooms, note visible damage or deferred maintenance, and look for safety issues. After they leave, they research recent comparable sales nearby and adjust for differences between those homes and yours to arrive at an opinion of value.1Fannie Mae. Comparable Sales
That’s the frame to prepare against. You are not staging a showing for a buyer. Scented candles and fresh flowers don’t help. What helps is removing anything that lets the appraiser write “deferred maintenance” or “subject to repairs” in the report.
Fix the Small Stuff That Drags Your Condition Rating
Appraisers assign every property a condition rating from C1 (brand new) to C6 (severe damage). The ratings come from Fannie Mae’s Uniform Appraisal Dataset and directly influence how lenders view your property.2Fannie Mae. Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Specification – Condition and Quality Rating Definitions A C4 means minor deferred maintenance but functional. A C5 means obvious deferred maintenance with significant repairs needed. Hit C5 or C6 territory and many lenders require repairs or certifications before they’ll approve the loan.3Fannie Mae. B4-1.3-06, Property Condition and Quality of Construction of the Improvements
Most of what separates a C4 from a C5 is small. Fix dripping faucets and leaky showerheads, because even a slow drip reads as a plumbing problem. Patch holes in drywall and repair cracked window panes. Replace burnt-out bulbs so every room lights up during the walkthrough. None of these change your value by thousands on their own. Together, they keep the condition narrative on your side.
Mechanical systems carry more weight. Your heating, cooling, and water heater should run without strange noises, visible rust, or obvious failure. If the appraiser finds a system that doesn’t work or looks unsafe, the report may come back “subject to” completion of repairs, meaning the final value is conditional on a licensed contractor fixing the problem and providing certification.3Fannie Mae. B4-1.3-06, Property Condition and Quality of Construction of the Improvements A few hundred dollars on an HVAC tune-up now beats weeks of delay later.
Extra Items If the Buyer Is Using FHA or VA Financing
FHA and VA appraisers check a longer list of safety and habitability standards than conventional appraisers do. Failing any of them means mandatory repairs before the loan can close. If you’re not sure which loan type the buyer is using, prepare to the FHA standard; it covers the strictest case.
- Peeling paint on homes built before 1978 must be stabilized or removed, under lead-based paint rules.
- The roof needs at least two years of remaining useful life. Missing shingles, holes, and damaged flashing around vents or chimneys are all flags.
- The ground must slope away from the house, with no major foundation cracks, settling, or water pooling against it.
- Any staircase with four or more risers, interior or exterior, needs a secure handrail.4Department of Housing and Urban Development. NSPIRE Standard – Handrail
- At least one working smoke detector on each level, inside each bedroom, and within 21 feet of any bedroom door.5Department of Housing and Urban Development. NSPIRE Standard – Smoke Alarm
- Carbon monoxide detectors are required in homes with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages under most local codes.
- No exposed wiring. All outlets functional. Every bathroom fixture must work, with hot water available.
- Crawlspaces and basements must be ventilated, free of standing water, and show no termite damage or structural compromise.
Document the Improvements the Appraiser Can’t See
Appraisers can only give you credit for upgrades they know about. Build a one-page file listing every significant improvement: the date, what it cost, and a contractor invoice or receipt when you have one. A $12,000 kitchen remodel or a $9,000 roof replacement can justify a meaningful upward adjustment against similar homes that haven’t been updated, but only if you hand the appraiser the details.
Hidden improvements are where homeowners lose the most value. New attic insulation, an upgraded electrical panel, a French drain system, a replaced sewer line, high-efficiency windows, spray foam, a modern HVAC. None of it is visible during a standard walkthrough. If you don’t document it, it effectively doesn’t exist in the report. Energy audit reports and ENERGY STAR certifications give the appraiser something concrete to work with; without paperwork, a high-efficiency furnace looks the same as a standard one.
You can also prepare a short list of recent comparable sales in your neighborhood that support your expected value. The appraiser will do their own research, but pointing them toward a nearby sale after a similar renovation gives them a data point they might not have found. Keep the comps within the past 12 months, since that’s the window Fannie Mae requires appraisers to report.6Fannie Mae. B4-1.3-07, Sales Comparison Approach Section of the Appraisal Report
Deal With Unpermitted Work Before the Visit
If you converted a garage into a bedroom, added a bathroom, or enclosed a porch without pulling the required building permits, the appraiser may not count that square footage or those improvements. Worse, unpermitted work discovered during the appraisal can push the value lower than expected and stall or kill the deal.
If you have unpermitted improvements, contact your local building department before the appraisal and ask about retroactive permitting. Some jurisdictions let you pull permits after the fact and have the work inspected, which legitimizes it in the appraiser’s eyes. Others are stricter. Either way, knowing where you stand beats being surprised by a low number you can’t explain.
Have Paperwork Ready for Solar Panels and ADUs
Whether solar panels add to your appraised value depends on whether you own them. Fannie Mae’s rules: if you bought the panels with cash or paid off the financing, the appraiser can include their contributory value. If the panels are leased or you’re under a power purchase agreement, they cannot be counted toward the appraised value at all.7Fannie Mae. Special Property Eligibility Considerations
Owned panels that serve as collateral for a separate loan fall in a gray area. If a UCC fixture filing appears in the real estate records and the panels can’t be repossessed, the appraiser should consider their value. If no filing exists, the appraiser is instructed to exclude them.7Fannie Mae. Special Property Eligibility Considerations Have your purchase agreement, loan payoff documentation, or lease terms at the door.
If your property includes an accessory dwelling unit, Fannie Mae has specific criteria for counting it. The ADU must sit on the same parcel as the primary home and be subordinate in size. It needs its own entrance, a kitchen with permanent cooking appliances (hotplates and microwaves don’t count), a sleeping area, and a bathroom. An ADU accessible only through the primary home, with no separate entrance or expectation of privacy, won’t qualify. Only one ADU is allowed per parcel, and it can’t sit on a property with a multi-unit dwelling.7Fannie Mae. Special Property Eligibility Considerations Make sure the appraiser knows the ADU exists and can get inside to inspect it.
Clean Up the Outside
The appraiser’s impression starts before they reach the front door. Mow the lawn, trim bushes away from the foundation and siding so both are visible, and clear yard debris or old equipment. This is about removing visual cues of neglect, not making the yard magazine-worthy.
Focus on function over decoration. Clean the gutters, make sure downspouts direct water away from the foundation, and repair obvious damage to siding, walkways, or the driveway. If you have a fence, make sure the gate opens and closes. Healthy, trimmed landscaping reads as “this owner takes care of things,” which is the narrative you want running as the appraiser walks inside.
Clear Interior Access and Turn Everything On
Decluttering before an appraisal isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about letting the appraiser see and reach what they need to evaluate. Clear surfaces so floors, countertops, and walls are visible. Move boxes away from the water heater, furnace, and electrical panel. If the attic has a pull-down ladder, make sure nothing is stacked underneath. The appraiser needs access to the attic, crawlspace, and basement to check for structural issues and moisture; anything in the way slows the visit or forces a return trip.
All utilities must be on. Electricity, water, and gas need to be active so the appraiser can test faucets, stoves, HVAC, and light switches. If you’ve moved out and shut utilities off, turn them back on before the appointment. A home with no running water or power can’t be fully inspected, and an incomplete inspection means an incomplete report.
Pets should be crated or off the property. An appraiser nervous about a loose dog isn’t doing their best work, and some will simply reschedule, which usually carries a re-inspection fee. VA loans set re-inspection fees at $150, and other loan types may charge up to $250 depending on the lender and market.8Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Appraisal Fee Schedules and Timeliness Requirements
If It Comes In Low Anyway
Even with careful preparation, appraisals sometimes come back below the purchase price or the value you expected. That doesn’t end the transaction, but it does force a decision. Your main lever is a Reconsideration of Value through your lender. Federal interagency guidance published in 2024 directs lenders to maintain a clear process for handling consumer complaints about valuations and to tell borrowers how to raise concerns early enough in underwriting for errors to be resolved.9Federal Register. Interagency Guidance on Reconsiderations of Value of Residential Real Estate Valuations
An ROV isn’t a guarantee of a higher number. You need specific evidence the appraiser missed or misjudged: comparable sales that match your property better, documentation of upgrades the appraiser didn’t account for, or factual errors like an incorrect room count or wrong square footage. The lender then asks the original appraiser to reassess based on that information. Vague disagreement with the result won’t move the needle.
If the ROV doesn’t change the outcome, your options narrow. In a purchase, an appraisal contingency in the contract lets the buyer walk with their earnest money or renegotiate the price. Buyer and seller can split the difference. The buyer can cover the gap in cash, which effectively increases their down payment. If none of those work, the deal may fall through and the seller relists. For a refinance, a low appraisal typically means you qualify for less favorable terms or a smaller loan than you wanted. You can accept the lower amount, wait for the market to shift, or make targeted improvements and try again once the current appraisal expires.