WHAT IS YOUR HOME WORTH? The first step in selling your home is knowing the difference between value, worth, and price. Let’s examine the determining factors at work. Understanding those factors allows them to be leveraged. There are several ways a home’s value is derived. ONLINE HOME VALUATION Online tools will provide you with a very basic estimate of your home’s current value based on recent comparable home sales in your area using a comprehensive database. Note that the assessment is based on available data with no guarantee of accuracy and often uses an algorithm that simply averages comparable sales in the geographic area. These tools might be quick and easy, but they don’t take into consideration factors like location, current local trends and the condition of the property. Be aware that the prices arrived upon might be highly inaccurate. For example, a home in Ohio was put into one such system, Redfin (https://www.redfin.com/ what-is-my-home-worth). The home last sold for $180,000 in 1998; it was appraised for refinancing in 2015 at $275,000. In 2017, Redfin’s calculator valued this 1890 Victorian home (4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 2,100 square feet) in a four-block area of “Grand Old
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