Let’s deal with a question that I hear quite frequently: How do I know what my home is worth? And that’s a fair question. When it comes time to selling your home, it’s important that you associate the correct value with your home. Allow me to explain some issues if you do not know how to accurately estimate this value.
Overvaluing vs. Undervaluing Your Home
If you value your home too low, if you place a number on it that’s not even worth what your house is worth, then obviously you’re not going to get the kind of money that you could get for your house. And you don’t want to lose that labor. You don’t want to lose the payments you’ve done. You don’t want to come out with the short end of the stick. So when you value your house too low then you have those issues.
And most people are familiar with those issues. But one thing that most people don’t consider is that there’s just as big an issue if you overvalue your property. If you take a home that’s worth $120,000 and value that property at $140,000, what’s going to happen is the buyer is going to come looking in your area, they’re going to realize that your house is overpriced, and as a result, your home is going to sit there on the market longer than it should.
Or you’re going to get low-ball offers. Because when people see that your house has been on the market longer than it should, they assume that it’s defective or that there’s an issue with selling it. And they see that as an opportunity to take advantage of the listing agent.
So what you want to do is to make sure that you find the exact value of your home. Don’t just pick a number and throw it out there. Find what your home is truly worth. Take the time to discover what the value is, and list it for that price.
Three Ways to Calculate Home Value
I’m going to give you three ways that you can discover the value of your house. A lot of people go with just one of these ways, but I recommend all three. I recommend that you take the three numbers, put them together, and you’ll have a better understanding of what your home is worth.
Now, the first option that a lot of people know about and go with is the appraisal. The appraisal is an outside organizational, a licensed group, that comes in and puts everything together. They compare the size of your lot the inside-outside sizes of your home. They take pictures and look at a bunch of details, then they compile a big list of things that contribute to the value of your home.
Now that is a very big thing to do. And it takes time and it costs a lot of money. If you have the time and you are willing to spend the money, I recommend you get an appraisal. What is important when you’re picking out an appraiser is that you understand an appraisal is not a science, it’s an art. In appraising, 2 + 2 does not always equal 4. You may take it to one appraiser and he may value it five or six thousand dollars higher than another appraiser. So when you’re looking for an appraiser, make sure you shop around and find the right one that is qualified to appraise your specific home.
Now the second thing that I want to bring up is the comparative market analysis or a CMA. In the the real estate world, a CMA is something that a realtor or a license real estate agent will do by pulling together active listings, recently sold, and pending listings in your area. They will try to figure out what the asking price is versus what the selling price is. So they can pull it all together and come up with an average market value or comparative market value to see what your home is worth.
Now the thing about a CMA is that typically this is a free service offered by any local real estate brokerage. So if you have someone that you’re interested in selling your property, ask them about the CMA. See if they will come out to your property to do a comparative market analysis and see if they can recommend a value for your home.
Now the third and final option is what’s known as a brokers price opinion or a BPO. These are usually offered at a small price anywhere from $50 to $250 depending on the value of your home and the brokerage you select. The broker comes out to your place and looks at a bunch of different options and factors and tries to figure out what your home is worth.
A Combined Approach
Now these are three separate options, and it’s always good to reach in different directions to find a good, true, accurate value. If you have the time and the money, go with an appraisal to establish the fair value of your home. But also contact your local realtor. Get them to do a CMA on your property and on your home to see what they might say your home is worth. And also go ahead and call the broker to do a PPO.
You can do one, two, or all three of these options. It’s up to you. However, I recommend using all three options to get a solid average for your home’s value.
The thing you need to understand is that if you don’t get you the value of your home right the first time, it could affect the sale of your house. It really could. If you price it too high and it stays on the market too long ,people are going to associate the picture of your house with too high a price, and they’re going to look right past it. You don’t want to do that. Because everyone wants to sell their house as quickly as possible for the most money that they can get.
If you have any more questions about how to sell it quickly and for the best value, reach out and let us help. And if you know people who might be selling their home, share this resource.
Today we’re going to be discussing how to know if your level is properly calibrated or if for some reason it’s no longer calibrated the way it needs to be. It’s frustrating to build something using a level only to find out later in the project your level was slightly off. Here’s how the pros calibrate their levels.
Plumb vs. Level
What we’re going to discuss first is whether or not your level is plumb. Now, there are two different terms: plumb and level.
I know that if I hold my level up to a vertical structure, then we are discussing level. But if I hold it up against a horizontal structure, then I’m going to refer to that as plumb.
These are two separate terms, and they should be kept separate.
Calibrating Your Level for Plumb
So the first thing we’re going to do is check our level for plumb. We hold it up against a vertical structure. You can hold it up against any structure as long as it is relatively plum already. You know that if it sticks straight up and down it will probably work.
What we’re going to do is level with itself to see if it is calibrated correctly. I want to direct your attention to the lower of the two bubbles that measure plumb. You’ll see that my bubble is directly centered between the two lines, so it’s telling me that my 6X6 is in fact plumb. But we’re going to check it with the other bubble at the top of the level.
Look up there and see it is saying that the bubble is between the two lines. It’s saying that it’s plumb. What this is telling me is that these two bubbles are reading the same. They’re at least not different from each other. When you see that, it’s pretty safe to assume that it is plumb and it is calibrated accurately.
Verify Plumb
But we don’t want to guess. We want to know for sure. So in order to check that, what we’re going to do is invert the level. Swap it and put it back in the exact same location up against the same 6×6. We then check the bubbles again for plumb.
So if you put it right back there you will see that the bubble once again is directly between the two lines as it should be. And if you go to the top you will see that it is directly between the two lines as it should be there, as well. This tells me that this level is accurately reading plum, and is reliable.
Calibrating Your Level for Level
The next thing we will do is check the level against a horizontal structure to determine level. So I will lay it on top of my 2×6.
It’s important to know when checking a level against itself that you always should put it in the exact same location as you did the first time. Otherwise it may not read accurately.
So now that we have it down where we want it, we will check the level bubble on the left. I can see my bubble crowds the line on the right just a little bit. So let’s check the other bubble. I can see there that my bubble on the right also crowds the line a little to the right just as the left bubble did.
What this tells me is that my horizontal 2×6 slants just a little bit down on the left. The 2×6 is off in this case, not my level. How do I know this? Because both of these are reading the same. So again, it’s safe to assume that they are both level.
Verify Level
But we don’t want to assume. Let’s make sure. What we’ll do is swap the level around again and put it back in the exact same location. Recheck the bubbles.
What I’m seeing here is that my bubble on the left (the one that was formerly on the right) is crowding the line to the right just a little bit just as it did before. And if you come over to the bubble that is now on the right, it actually appears to be centered.
It’s not crowding the line to the right. This tells me that this bubble needs to be adjusted just a little bit. So what I would do at this time is take out a pencil and put an X or some kind of mark on this level bubble that is off. This way I know next time I’m using this level that this particular bubble cannot be trusted.
How do we know that it’s this particular bubble? Simple. Because the bubble on the left always reads the same whenever you swap. But the bubble on the right reads differently whenever you swap it.
Consistency Is Key
So the key here in calibrating your level is consistency. If there is any form of inconsistency in the location of your bubble as it relates to the two lines on either side, that bubble is not trustworthy. You might go on build an entire structure, and it could all be wrong, because your level is out. So beware.
A level can be a builder’s or carpenter’s best friend or worst enemy. It all depends on if it’s properly calibrated or not.
Vacation rental properties are HOT along the Emerald Coast. Many have found them to be a highly lucrative investment avenue. And if you’ve ever considered getting into real estate investment, no doubt the prospect of owning a beachfront property has crossed your mind. But where do you start? Well, we’re not investment experts, but the folks over at NerdWallet are. And if you’re looking for what all to consider before jumping in, you’ll find their post quite helpful.
If you’re thinking of building a new house on the gulf, you’re probably making yourself dizzy with all the design options out there. Fortunately, there are classic trends that will stand the test of time. Coastal Living put together a list of five classic design trends for beach houses. Chances are, you will love many or all of them!
Patio decks are low maintenance, but not no maintenance. A well-built wood deck will last you many years, but keeping up with it and taking a few steps toward maintaining it will lengthen its lifespan. HGTV has a great post about what you should do to maintain your wood deck.
![How to Calibrate Your Level Like a Pro [with pictures]](https://i0.wp.com/joscobayhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/level-789387_1920.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
