When you are ready to sell your house there are a few different routes you could go about to receive the price you are looking for. You can do it yourself, seek advice from a housing professional, or get the home evaluated. The best and most formal estimate of a house's worth is done through an real estate appraiser. An appraiser inspect the residence top to bottom and inside and out taking notice to several different items. He will consider where the home is located, view, how old the home is, and number of rooms and bathrooms, just to name a few. Following the field inspection of the property, the appraiser will write up a report. In this analysis he will contrast your home to two or three different properties which have sold recently. The properties compared to your house are very similar in square footage and location to your piece of real estate. Then the appraiser will make adjustments to the value of your house based on its similarities and differences in relation to the comparable homes. Remember that some things you would think add value to the home might not whatsoever. One such example of this is above ground swimming pools because they are considered personal property and can be removed at any time. On the other hand an in ground pool will assuredly raise the home's worth along with large porches and central air conditioning systems. Being a very intensive process, the average fee for an appraisal is about $350. Most appraisers will estimate a price over the phone still others simply will not because it can be hard to quote a price without first visualizing. Getting an appraisal is a smart idea; however it is highly recommended that the property owner do his own research. Make an effort to learn about the current market and experience some open houses to make your own comparisons. In particular you may want to pay attention to is the market itself. Does it look like a good time to sell? Or are other homes in your neighborhood selling for below value? So, before you make the decision to sell, watch the market for some time and see if you notice any trends. If you are set on getting an agent be sure to meet with two or three to be sure you are getting the best price. If you get an appraisal and then go to one agent they may say you are asking too much, while a different agent may be of the same mind as you. But make certain that you are not asking too much. Overpriced homes do not tend to sell! The moral of the story: When it is time to sell your house, be sure to do your research! If you are going the do-it-yourself route, be sure it is a good time to sell and get an appraiser. If you would rather go with a professional agent, meet with more than one until you get one you trust. These are some very simplistic steps you should go through to make certain that you get a fair price for your piece of real estate.