With mortgage rates at record low levels, my wife and I decided to investigate refinancing our mortgages, and it looks like it's going to save us a ton of money if we do it, even if we just stayed a couple more years.

The arithmetic gets a bit complicated because we currently have a second mortgage with a balloon payment that comes due in about 10 years, but the upshot is that, as long as we come to the table with enough to get the loan-to-value ratio to 80% (which shouldn't be too much of a problem) we end up saving $500 a month, get rid of the big ballon payment, and have enough equity to potentially take out loans to do more repairs in the future.

The big variable, of course, is the appraised value of the home. Our region has maintained home values better than almost anywhere else in the US, so I'm not very worried about the value being less than what I paid for it 4 years ago, but I do want to make sure the appraisal comes in as high as possible, which would lower the amount we have to put down now.

The house is in very good condition structurally. The roof is in good shape, the HVAC is all very modern and efficient, etc. The major problem areas would be the asphalt driveway, which is cracked in many spots and in need of repair/replacement, the front walkway, which currently consists of rickety concrete pavers, and a timber retaining wall in the back that's falling over from the weight of the earth behind it. These items are all in the "eyesore" category that I've heard appraisers focus on when they evaluate home values.

I've gotten some estimates to re-do the retaining wall with blocks, and to redo the walkway and driveway with poured concrete. The estimates so far seem pretty reasonable to me ($3500 for the wall, $6000 for the walkway and the driveway) and they may come down as I get a couple more estimates, but I'm wondering if I need to rush these repairs to be finished before the appraisal or if they can wait until afterwards. If I do them now, it's more money we have to dump into the house now at a time when we may have to pour even more into the refinance if the appraisal comes back low, but putting the money in now may itself improve the value, and they're things we'll have to deal with at some point anyway.

I guess my main question is how much these kinds of repairs are likely to pay off in helping improve the appraised value. I know I won't get dollar-for-dollar or even half of that, but my goal is to do whatever I can now to avoid any negative surprises from the appraisal. Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?