Blog Category: comps

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Appraisal Challenges

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. Read More

apples and oranges

Proper Comparable Sales for an Appraisal

I recently had a refinance client who got their home appraised for $1,000,000. You would think this would be good news, except that the client was expecting $1.2MM. Uh oh, I guess we didn’t get good news. However, the more important question is, did we get accurate news? In other words, was the appraisal valuation accurate and were the comparable sales used in the appraisal appropriate? This is where the debate started. Read More

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What Happens When an Appraisal Comes in Low?

When a homebuyer is getting a mortgage to buy a new home everyone seems to be on pins and needles waiting on the appraisal. When the appraisal does come in if the appraised value is below the contract price the response is usually alarm from the realtors. And confusion by the homebuyer. At that point there is a lot to talk about and coordinate. Read More