In my experience, there seems to be a lot of confusion about appraisals. I hear a lot of misstatement about how appraisal values are determined. If an appraisal comes in below the agreed upon sales price there is usually a lot of push back, anger, and harshly worded statements about the intelligence of the appraiser. Many sellers, some buyers, and even some realtors use methodology and data that is not accurate. The reality is that there is a way to challenge an appraisal that is quite simple. All you have to do is come up with recent comparable sales (aka comps) that you think are better than the ones that the appraiser used. The problem is what some people come up with for comparable sales are not really viable comps. Read the rest of this entry »