This Sunday, October 16, 2016 from 1:00-3:00pm, Geri Reilly Real Estate is hosting two Open Houses! Join us at 40 School Street in Burlington and 73 South Street in Essex Junction. Stop by to say "hi" and take a look around!

We look forward to seeing you there!

40 School Street, Burlington

4BR/2BA classic colonial in the heart of downtown Burlington. Filled with character, spacious kitchen with new floor, formal dining room, sun-filled living room with French doors. Original hardwood floors throughout. Spacious 2^nd floor bedrooms. Fenced in backyard, oversized 2 car garage & wrap around front porch.

MLS# 4602865 / $379,900

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73 South Street, Essex Junction

Charming four bedroom, one bath cape conveniently located in the heart of Essex Junction. Hardwood floors on first floor, spacious eat-in kitchen, newer flooring in kitchen. First floor bedrooms could easily be formal dining or office, lots of potential! Large backyard with shed plus one car garage, walk to schools, shopping, town park and five corners!

MLS# 4601933 / $229,900

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This Sunday, October 9, 2016 from 1:00-3:00pm, Geri Reilly Real Estate is hosting two Open Houses! Join us at 24 Holbrook Road in South Burlington and 156 Whispering Pines #3 in Colchester. Stop by to say "hi" and take a look around!

We look forward to seeing you there!

24 Holbrook Road, South Burlington

4BR/3BA home nestled in ideal Vermont National neighborhood, on corner lot! Living room with gas fireplace, dining room with hardwood floor, kitchen with granite center island and gorgeous tile backsplash, master BR with private BA & oversized custom walk-in closet.  Spacious bedrooms and finished lower level.

MLS# 4515553 / $549,900

156 Whispering Pines #3, Colchester

Meticulously maintained 2BR/1.5BA townhouse in quiet Colchester neighborhood. Open floor plan with extra storage in kitchen, formal dining room with hardwood floor and sunken living room opening onto private patio. Sunny & spacious second floor bedrooms and semi-finished basement. Minutes to Malletts bay, bike path and schools.

MLS# 4506418 / $169,900

When you begin the process of buying or selling a home, you may be imagining how happy your kids will be playing in a larger yard, or how pleasant it will feel to finally move to the lake house of your dreams.

But before you can settle into your new space, one thing to be completed is the home appraisal. You’ll want to have an appraisal done during the buying and selling process. But what exactly does it entail?

An appraisal is an estimate, based on unbiased research, of the fair market value of your home. Appraisals are important when it comes to getting financing for purchase. Most homebuyers need to get a loan of some kind, and most lenders are going to require an appraisal before they will lend that money to you.

Why? The house you’re going to buy functions as loan collateral. If you take out a loan for $300,000 and you aren’t able to pay, the lender needs to be sure that they can recoup their losses through the collateral. If the house you bought with that $300,000 loan is worth $300,000, the lender should be able to recover the loss.

However, say you buy a house listed at $300,000 and find out later that it’s only worth $200,000. This is a problem for both parties, as it leaves a significant deficit. While the difference in true market value and list price will rarely be so extreme, there’s still a chance that a home may be purchased for an incorrect value.

So, take the time to schedule an appraisal! An appraisal is done by a licensed appraiser not associated with either buyer or seller, and is completed after both parties have signed a contract and negotiated a price. At this point, everyone is hoping the appraised value will be as close as possible to the agreed upon price so there is no further need to negotiate. Make sure the sales and purchase agreement you have signed allows you to step out of the contract or renegotiate the price if need be.

The seller usually pays for the appraisal, which can cost a few hundred dollars. An appraisal is not an inspection, though an inspection should also be completed. This will look for issues with the home that you might have to pay to fix down the road, while the appraisal determines current value.

An appraiser will consider two things when looking at a home. When visiting the property, they will examine the quality and condition of interior and exterior items, like the roof, foundation, windows and appliances, as well as what materials they are constructed of. Amenities like central air, fireplaces and pools will add to the value, as will upgrades to the home. As a homeowner, you can let the appraiser know about any major improvements you’ve made, and make sure the house and yard are clean and neat for the day of the appraisal.

In the second part of the process the appraiser will look at comparable properties, homes in the area similar to yours that are on the market or have recently been sold, to get an idea of the true market value of the home.

It usually takes a few days to get the final report after the appraisal has been completed. Once this is done, you’re free to move forward with the next step of your home sale!

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Photo by lumaxart - 3D Realty Handshake, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3590909