How often are your financed deals impacted by the appraisals coming in low?
- Often, but not on most deals. (42%, 20 Votes)
- A majority of the time. (38%, 18 Votes)
- Rarely or never. (21%, 10 Votes)
Total Voters: 48
Share your thoughts with other readers below!
What’s a better value for a home than what someone is willing to pay for it? Isn’t that exactly what the free market is about? Isn’t that what appraisers are suppose to be figuring out? The only difference is that an appraiser is suppose to determine what a group of people would be willing to pay for it, as apposed to a single person.
An appraisal is not, however, simply opinion. We recently had an appraiser who told us the exact opposite. We had 5 potential buyers lined up to buy our townhouse at $148k and he tried to tell us it was only worth $137k. I don’t care what past data tells you, if there are 5 people lined up to buy at $148k, it doesn’t matter. After subjecting 2 buyers to various appraisers, we finally just sold to an investor. It’s now been two months since we sold and the investor is selling the house for $168k – and he’ll get it, too.
Appraisals have become worthless with the large fluctuation in buying price. Then to make matters worse, as investors have come into the market, they don’t have to have an appraisal done, nor do they have to list the sale on the MLS if no loan is taken out. So anyone who doesn’t sale to an investor has to fight the appraisals because they can only use items “on the book”.
We’re building a house where we’re struggling to get a loan on it because the appraisal came in just under our building costs. What’s even more frustrating is that another home that’s almost exactly like ours and just finishing up will sale (is under contract) for more than double what we need. So if we wait ONE month, we’ll not only have enough value to get the loan, but we’ll have enough value to do away with PMI as well!
The system is broken and it’s time we let the market determine the value, not appraisers. Get the regulations and the government out of the private sector; they’re not protecting anyone!
I find it interesting that so many folks who DO NOT hold any type of licensure regarding real estate appraisal have such concrete opinions about real property appraisal. Stop blaming the appraisers for the market ills and drink in the reality. The realtors, mortgage brokers and lenders played a very large part in the ridiculous price ramp up which occurred around 2005. We were being threatened over the phone, the fax and email if we didn’t come up with “the number” to satisfy all of the greedy idiots involved. Now we’re being blamed for the collapse and the subsequent fallout.
If you have an issue with an appraiser and or appraisal, talk to your lender/bank and ask specific questions about the appraisal. Most appraiser’s worth their salt will explain the whys, the whens and the hows in explicit detail when asked for the information and share the info with the appropriate parties. If you have further issues regarding the apprasier or appraisal then contact the state appraisal board in your state. They have been appointed to protect the public from us appraisers. You can lodge a formal complaint and the board will investigate the claim as they are in existence to protect the public.
It’s seems awfully funny that NOBODY bitched when everything was going their way in the Great Real Estate Rip Off of the 2000’s. No one complained about the values coming in too high, but low and behold now that the market has bearing the ugly realities no one wants to hear the truth. Don’t worry too much though, the banks are doing everything they can to get rid of us residential appraisers. Then you’ll get your valuations from Automated Value Models. If you think us appraisers are worthless wait until you get property valuation as per AVM where the bank calls all of the shots.
I used to enjoy my profession. Now I hate this job with a bloody F#$&*@g passion. Every homeowner thinks their property is more valuable than anything within the market area even when specific arms length transactions are utilized to exhibit the market value. If most people really knew some of the ugly realities about real estate they would be sickened. Granted there are some bad appraisers out here, but there are probably three times as many bad agents in practice as well. A large number of them cannot measure homes, do not understand site size as related to value and are more than willing to lie in lieu of losing a sale.
Correction on my previous note – it was under appraised at least $50,000 – not just $25,000.
We are in the process of refinancing our house, the appraiser used Sold comparables from six months ago, when their policy says should be within 90 days. Also, she’s from another county and doesn’t know what’s going on in the market in our area. There were two properties located about 1-2 blocks away from the subject property, she did not use them and instead she used properties about 5 blocks away. It looks like she doesn’t have access to current MLS service.
Our property was appraised by the Appraiser about $25,000+ under it’s market value.
Appraisers should ALWAYS adjust for short sales and here in the Sacramento area, the appraisals I’ve seen lately do not have any adjustment. But short sale SOLD prices are rarely, if ever, un-affected by the process. Specifically because the seller losing the house doesn’t have any incentive to search for or submit the highest offer.
When short sales are gone, sales will go back to normal where supply and demand determine the price.
I guess I don’t blame the appraiser from being angry. After all they didn’t have ANYTHING to do with artifically inflated housing prices. I remember the days when I could call an appraiser and get the price I wanted.
I have a question Angry A. If you are appraising a house on a quiet residential street and and model match comp is on a busy 4 lane street, wouldn’t you give some value tot he house on the quiet street?
The problem I am seeing is we have appraisers coming in from surrounding counties who don’t know the area.
Under priced listings ARE THE REASON WHY TRANSACTIONS ARE COMING IN UNDER SALE PRICE.
Every appraisal REQUIRES (2) non closed comparables….either a listing and/or pending.
Throw in a no inventory market and YOUR APPRAISAL COMES IN LOW.
ALL OF YOU GREEDY LOW BALLING AGENTS LOOKING FOR MULITPLE OFFERS
VIA LOWBALL LIST PRICES ARE KILLING THE MARKET.
STOP IT!!!…………….TAKE AN APPRASING 101 CLASS.
PUT DOWN THE SHORT SALE CRACK PIPE VALUATION MODEL!!!!!!