You get back your appraisal report and the value of your home is much higher than others in your area. You wonder why this could be. Every other home in your neighborhood that is the same size and design is several thousand dollars less than the appraised value your home received.

Your appraiser is supposed to be an expert. Could he or she have made a mistake? Well, of course people make mistakes. However, it is much more likely that the appraiser did a perfect job appraising your house and that it is indeed worth more than other “comparable” homes in your area.

Why? More than any other reason, it is probably due to the special amenities your home includes that others do not.

So what are amenities? Amenities are features of your home that make it stand out. They may be things that make it more visually appealing or just more rare or interesting. It may also be features that make the home more accommodating or practical. It is usually something that makes the home prettier or makes it more useful.

For example, a home with disability access is more useful for those who are disabled. The same goes for a home that has a fence for those who own animal, or a backyard barbeque or an outside porch light. While these amenities make things easier or more efficient for home owners, they also saving excess costs new homeowners would need to put out if these were not already part of the purchase package.

Aesthetic amenities can include a number of things, but usually involve patios, porches, balconies, pools, city or mountain views, golf course location, resort location and other aspects of the home that make it either nice to look at the home or nicer to look at the area, in relation to other “average” homes.

Of course, most people would prefer a home with a beautiful view than one with a large building or ugly view out the window. Patios and porches may be both visually appealing and practically appealing (useful for sitting out on, grilling, having dinner, etc.). Some features that are considered attractive can also be useful, like a basketball hoop on the garage or a long or wide driveway or larger garage. Classification of the amenity will be subjective according to one’s own personal taste.

Just remember all of this when you are purchasing or selling a home. For amenities make a big difference. If you take the time to invest in amenities, you will assuredly considerably raise the value and selling price of your home. When you are buying, a pretty house may be more expensive than one of the same size and structure down the street, but what is your priority? Are you willing to pay extra for the view or would you rather sacrifice a beautiful location for the same home in an average location at a lower price?