When selling your own home or another property, dealing with a low appraisal can be a heartbreaking affair. While the buyer might be happy with the condition of your property, his or her lender can be worried about certain things and in turn, can make it harder for the buyer to buy. If the bank has contracted a private firm to evaluate and appraise your property, it may be impossible to contact them to know exactly what you could improve, repair, or change. In any case, a low appraisal is a sign that your property can possibly be bettered, and sometimes the tasks required are not difficult to achieve.
There a few things that can help one to increase the value of your home or even change the mind of the bank. One of them is actually contacting your buyer’s lender or appraiser through your real estate agent, if at all possible. If they hired an outside appraisal company, it may be possible that company’s records of your neighborhood were out of date or even mistaken. It is always prudent to make sure that the low appraisal is proportional to the condition of your property and the property value of the surrounding houses in the neighborhood.
If that’s not an available solution, another great tip is to talk to your lender. In many cases, banks and other types of lenders have contacts to appraisers all over the country. If you can get your house reappraised by their contractors, you can request to see the faults of your property, and in return, negotiate with your buyer and their lender after fixes and improvements are done.
If you receive a low appraisal, it’s time for your real estate agent to get to work, and time for you to ask for a review of the low appraisal… many times I’ve seen an appraiser from outside the city give a low appraisal because they just don’t understand your neighborhood or city. It is your right as a home owner to ask for a “review” of a low appraisal.
If nothing else works, there is a more complicated method to get where you need to go regarding your home sale. Appraisers must follow a code of rules and regulations when appraising your home. They must not only know the market at large, but also follow the ebb and flow of your local market.
If you are still not satisfied by the result of the buyer’s lender’s contractor or your own bank’s private appraiser, it is possible to contact an appraisal company by yourself, but ultimately it’s the buyer’s appraisal that will matter.
It’s always a sound idea to hire locally, since local appraisers are much better at knowing the market local to your property… but new rules after the financial meltdown now requires an appraiser be picked out of a hat, so make sure your real estate agent has done their homework, meets the appraiser at the property with sold comparables and provides any other assistance they may need… it’s part of the job.
Author Jeff Hammerberg is the Founding CEO of www.GayRealEstate.com – Free Instant Access to the Top Gay, Lesbain and Gay Friendly Realtors Coast to Coast, offering Free Buyers Assistance.
