Homeowner PSA (aka “Don’t play games with your appraiser”)

If you’re selling your home or refinancing your loan, and you’re thinking: “Well, my house is definitely worth more because of that upgrade I did…” — the new appraisal forms are about to call your bluff.

These forms will literally ask the appraiser to confirm how much your upgrade cost and when it was done.

 New kitchen? They’ll want the actual receipt, not just a photo of you standing in front of a new fridge.

 New roof? They’ll want the date it was installed, not “oh yeah, we did that sometime after the Super Bowl when Beyoncé performed.”

 Bathroom remodel? Time to dig out that Home Depot receipt and prove those “heated floors” didn’t just mean you bought a nicer bath mat.

 Moral of the story: SAVE. YOUR. RECEIPTS.

Put them in a binder. Make a Google Doc. Shove them in a shoebox under your bed if you must. Just keep them.

And if you’re buying a home? Don’t just take “new roof” on the listing at face value. Ask for the paperwork. Save it. One day, you’ll thank me when an appraiser comes knocking, asking for the “when” and the “how much.”

For the record — I personally have every receipt for every single thing I’ve ever done to my house.

Even the $12 doorknob I replaced back in 2013. Because let’s be honest, someday an appraiser is going to care. Probably.

So yeah — the future of appraisals? It’s basically: show me the receipts or it didn’t happen.