Does Cleaning the House Help With Appraisal? Our Honest Answer

Getting your home appraised can be anxiety-inducing as you want your house to be valued well and even the smallest things that could bring this value down will cause a lot of regrets. Knowing the factors beforehand can help you get your house valued really well. It is here that you might wonder “does cleaning house help appraisal?” Let us shed some light on that.

It shouldn’t make a difference but it does

The simple matter of the fact is that your home’s cleanliness should not affect its value during an appraisal but the hard truth is that it really does. The biggest reason is the cleaning costs that would be involved if the house is dirty which the appraiser will deduct from the value of the house. Then there is the perception. Its basic human nature to place more value on things that are aesthetically pleasing and a clean and well-maintained house will be valued higher than one that is dirty even if there are no structural differences between them. So, the answer is a big yes! Cleaning house does help appraisal.

DIY or professional?

Now that we have figured the need for cleanliness in a house that needs to be appraised, the next course of action is deciding how you want to go about it. The two options available to you are either hunker down and do it yourself or get some professional help if the former isn’t feasible for you.

When to do it yourself?

This is a great course of action if you want to take a hands-on approach to cleaning. You will be in absolute control and can do things at your own pace. The obvious downside to this approach is the sheer amount of effort involved. This is especially true if the house is really dirty. Other issues you could encounter is finding it really difficult to clean certain areas that would need specialized cleaning tools, methods, and chemicals. We recommend cleaning the house all by yourself before an appraisal only if the house isn’t too dirty and has been looked after quite well.

When to get the help of a professional cleaning service?

There are some houses that can be an absolute pain to clean. It is also these types of homes that will fetch a far lesser value than it is supposed to during an appraisal. Trying to go the DIY route with such a house can be so frustrating that you will just give up and accept whatever value is thrown your way. This is where a professional cleaning crew can come in really handy. They will have the necessary know-how, experience, equipment, and other resources to ensure that the house looks spotless within a short time-frame. This will require some spending but usually, it will be far less than the amount you would lose if the house is appraised in its dirty avatar.

Cleaning a house has many benefits and it can be extremely helpful even when you are looking to sell a house. A good impression goes a long way and a clean house will instantly be considered more valuable than one that is not.