Maybe the property is considered unusual. Does the house have a wierd shape like a barn or something? Appraisers (lenders too) can be very conservative on these properties.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you… Don’t order the appraisal yourself. The lender won’t accept it. Instead, call the loan officer and tell him to start calling appraisers until he gets the value. He should tell them to drive by and check it out but don’t get out of the car if they can’t get the value you need.
Here’s my problem: Have a beautifully renovated large 3/4 bedroom farmhouse for sale on 2.5 acres on the edge of town for $118,000. Get buyer to sign contract, his mortgage company send out appraiser and he comes up with $96,000. I hire an appraiser and after 2 weeks, they tell me that they can’t find ANYTHING comparable and want to return my money. (House is 100 years old, beautiful orginal woodwork and on the largest parcel of land in town). The buyer is chomping at the bit to move in but is starting to wonder if I’m pulling a fast one…can anyone help me? I did talk the appraiser into coming back to the house with me and doing a walkthrough…but they can’t do that until the middle of next week.
Posted by Darrin(GA) on March 04, 1999 at 22:29:31:
I notice that you said HIS MORTGAGE company sent out an appraiser.
It is true that the mortgage company works for him and the appraiser is hired by (read that as “Will answer to”) the mortgage company. However, you should build a relationship with a good loan officer who knows his stuff. When I send an appraiser out to get a value for one of my clients, he knows full well what value I need and he is under strict instructions to turn around and go home if he can’t provide the comparables. In other words, good loan officers won’t work with lazy appraisers.
Everyone knows what a valuable asset a good real estate agent can be. Don’t under estimate the value of building a relationship with a loan officer of your friendly neighborhood mortgage company.
The investors I work with call me at home (8 am to 11pm)with their buyers’ names and numbers. They know that I won’t let money be wasted on a bad appraisal. ($300 - OUCH!) I want their continued business and the appraiser wants mine.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to preach. Call your client’s loan officer and tell him he has 24 hours to straighten this situation out or he’ll never get another referral from you. I bet you’ll be surprised at the number of comparables that magically appear in that $118k price range over night.
I agree with you. And I refered him to my usual mortgage broker but he wanted to use the one he had used in the past. And I got the name of the appraiser I used from the RE agent I’ve bought 14 houses from in the past year (so I know she wants my business). And I mentioned to the appraiser that I had 4 other houses that needed appraisal in the next 2 months (and you would think that might help…but it didn’t.