Comments on: Appraisals Are Lengthening Closing Time To 40 Days

By: Angel

Angel — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:37:55 +0000

40 days? My goodness….here is New York state the closings have been 60+ days since we bought our first house nearly 10 years ago, up to now when we are moving into our second home. Wish it only took 40 days. Want to move before snow sets in!

By: Lisaloo

Lisaloo — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:40:24 +0000

Lucky you. The bank or owner either needs to lower their price to 230k or you have to come up with the 15k difference on your own.

They will probably come down. Most are.

PS-Dump the agent. He/she is trying to keep the sale from falling thru.

By: Lisaloo

Lisaloo — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:39:23 +0000

Lucky you. The bank or owner either needs to lower their price to 230k or you have to come up with the 15k difference on your own.

They will probably come down. Most are.

By: Ram

Ram — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:55:21 +0000

Karen and other appraisers,

Is there a difference between FHA loan appraisal and conventional loan appraisal? I gave an offer on a house for 245,000 and the appraisal came in at 230,000. The listing agent claims that, since it is a FHA appraisal, it did not appraise for 245k and that a conventional loan appraisal would come at 245k. How true is that? Please let me know.

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:57:18 +0000

Appraisal reviews are ordered on EVERY appraisal anyway. Sometimes 2 or 3 of them, a field review, a desk review, a quality control review.
There might be the high probability that the reviewer DOESN’T agree with the first 3 appraisers. So then who are you going to blame next? Sometimes I do “retrospective reviews,” so then I’m reviewing an appraisal completed 2 years ago. Like I said before, the appraiser’s liabilty stays with the life of the loan. Appraisers going to be held liable, not the agents who are complaining about value.
For those who ask about objectivity, appraisals are really a value range. The range truly should be within a 5%, meaning a sample of quality appraisal reports would show they were all within 5% of one another (as in Ron’s example.) I sort of compare it to “body weight,” your doctor could tell you that for your age, height, ethnicity, your body weight should be between 150-165 lbs. Then you throw in the quality of food you eat, quantity and quality of exercise, and any physical conditions you may have. The same concept can be applied to appraisals….where is the neighborhood, how are the school districts, quality/condition of upgrades, square feet, etc. That is why no one appraisal is alike, just like any doctor you see for a condition will vary on their diagnostic opinion. Differences greater than 10%, in my opinion, are questionable.

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:02:22 +0000

The new appraisal process is an absoulute nightmare. We received a total of four appraisals (lot split two for each lot) Three appraisers came in within 5% of each other. The last appraiser came in more than 30% less than the other three. This was an appraiser that was not familiar with the area and was hired through the “priceline.com” of appriaising …ie. the lowest bid wins. We have been trying to contest the value, but the banks and others now hide behind the new HVCC. Anyone that is having trouble with an appraisal, I urge you to read the HVCC as the bank does have the ability to request an appraisal review if you can show that the appraisal is “flawed” Certain areas such as beach communities and other high value areas a difference in a block can make a huge difference in value. Something must be done to change this process.

By: Maxx

Maxx — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:37:26 +0000

I have to echo Marion’s setiments… First appraisal for our equity sale on the condo came in at $325,000 early June; second one came in at $285,000 just today. House next door with an extra half bathroom + 100sq ft(larger 2nd bedroom) was appraised last month for $360k.

Where is the consistency?

By: Jack

Jack — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:51:13 +0000

Comments from Karen and other Appraisers are much appreciated. Thank you!

By: Marino

Marino — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:32:19 +0000

I’m applying for a refinance loan with two different banks. Last month I had two appraisals on the property, one from each bank.
One came at $375,000 and the other at $475,000.
So much for objectivity.

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:55:10 +0000

I was just reading Becky’s comment above. I am on panel of several appraisal management companies and they don’t send me (or other appraisers I know), outside a 50 mile radius. Having said that, I consider myself competent to appraise properties more than 75 miles from my office, because I’ve lived between these two counties for so long and am very familiar with them.
It does seem like many agents are quick to cry out that the appraiser doesn’t know the area when we don’t hit their number. I didn’t hear that much complaining about geographic competence before the HVCC…when agents/loan officers were pressuring appraisers and having their “favorite,” appraiser from 100 miles away assigned.