Home appraisal for refinancing out of FHA loan

[Dominique Montague]

Hello all,

We are planning to start process to refinance our FHA home loan to a conventional loan in the next 30 days. We checked comps in the area and house is worth approx 100,000 more than when we bought in 2016!!! We plan to withdrawal some of our equity to use for a down payment for our FIRST (well second if you count our first single family home purchase) investment property and looking primarily at duplexes. What are the things that impact your appraisal most? Our bathrooms are updated but kitchen is outdated. We recently purchased new kitchen appliances a month ago. If we painted the kitchen cabinets and put in new countertops how much would this impact our appraisal or would it at all? Are there any affordable tricks to maximize your appraisal? Thank you in advance!!!