Are you thinking about selling your home? If so, it’s important to know what your home is worth. Let’s face it, most of us think our home is worth more than it really is. We all need to be aware of the current market conditions and there are certain values that may throw us off a little. What is assessed value? What is appraised value? When thinking about setting the price of your home, it is important to know the difference between the two.

The assessed value is determined by the County Assessor and is used to calculate your property tax. Most often, however, it usually isn’t the best indicator regarding what your home is worth. Depending on the condition of your home and current market conditions, it may be worth more or may be worth less. However, people still get assessed value confused with the appraised value.

The appraised value is the value that can make your day or cause you grief when selling your home. This value is determined by a licensed appraiser who is an independent property valuation expert. An appraiser uses a number of methods and factors to determine the value. It’s much like a market analysis, except more exact. An appraiser ultimately determines your home’s value, which is a more accurate number to determine the listing price. Before a mortgage company makes a loan, it will do an appraisal. It is important to note that a mortgage company will not lend more than the appraised value. If you think your home is worth more than what your REALTOR® says, get an appraisal done. This way you know exactly what your home is worth and can price accordingly.

Your favorite REALTOR® knows the difference between the two valuations methods and will be able to shed some clarity.

You’re thinking about buying a home? The grass is green and spring is finally here. Banks and lenders keep jabbing away about how low interest rates are and that now is a great time to buy a home. They’re right! It is a great time to buy a home. What you may not understand is in order to get those low rates you must have a strong credit score.

Recently, lenders have drawn a line. If your score isn’t high enough, you’re not getting a mortgage.

Usually a high credit score means a low interest rate while a lower credit score means a higher rate. The difference between a good and average credit score could mean several hundred dollars a month on that new home mortgage. While preparing for your new home search, it is very important to contact a lender and start the pre-approval process. Have them pull your credit report and look at your credit score. If you are in the extreme preliminary stages of your new home search and you haven’t contacted a lender, get a free report from one of the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. You are entitled to one free copy of your credit report annually.

Credit scores will range from 300 to 900 with the higher the better. In order to build a good credit score you should pay your bills on time and limit yourself to minimal amounts of available credit. Factors that may affect your credit score negatively include late payments, bankruptcy, foreclosures, and even having your credit report pulled too many times. A lender is going to see how well you pay your bills and that could ultimately determine if you get approved for your new home mortgage.

Buying a house? Your credit score matters. A lot. Take care of it.