Specific characteristics of a house add to its price, according to those who make a living assessing homes.

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, April 16, 2006

BY SUSAN KUSHNER RESNICK
Journal Staff Writer

If you're looking for the best possible appraisal price for your home before you sell it, you might have to do something drastic. Such as moving the entire house.

"The main thing we know in real estate is location, location, location," says Tom Andolfo, chairman of the Rhode Island real-estate appraisers board, "so if you have a good location, typically you'll have a good value."

Short of hitching the house to a trailer and dragging it to Newport, there are some things homeowners can do, Andolfo says.

Rhode Island's 569 appraisers all fill out a specific form when determining the value of a single-family home.

The Fannie Mae appraisal report requires appraisers to looks at things that owners can't really control, such as neighborhood, site and physical attributes of property, including dimensions and zoning designation as well as public water and sewer access as opposed to well water or a septic system. They also look at whether there are any easements on the property. They list the gross living area of the house and determine both its chronologic and effective age.

But appraisers also look carefully at the things that homeowners can change. Andolfo says they look at whether the house has drop ceilings or plaster, floors covered with hardwood, carpeting or tile and wood or vinyl replacement windows, central air conditioning or window units.

They check to see whether the house has fireplaces, how many bathrooms and what type of heating and electrical systems.

Finally, they look at the kitchen, noting the layout and things such as whether it has granite or tile countertops.

"We have to rate the quality of the house -- fair, average, good or excellent," Andolfo says.

Typically, banks or mortgage companies hire appraisers and the Fannie Mae report goes to them. But homeowners can also hire real-estate appraisers directly. The biggest advantage of doing that is ascertaining the correct asking price or market value, then being able to choose the real-estate agent who provides the most accurate estimate.

"They can compare the value estimate to those received from real-estate agents or brokers," Andolfo says.

Each independent appraiser has a different fee, Andolfo says, but range from $250 to $400 for a single-family house.

Unless, of course, the house has location on its side.

"Typically, when we look at waterfront properties and houses with more complex worth, you will see a higher fee," Andolfo says. "It can be up to $1,000."