appraisal: “What Effect will the Word MUST have on an FHA Appraisal”
- 06/11/15 01:18 AM
“What Effect will the Word MUST have on an FHA Appraisal”
We were taking a few days of R and R so I decided to catch up on some reading that I have been putting off and made the mistake of picking up the newly released FHA handbook. There is a section on appraisals and appraisers that got my attention and sent a chill down my spine.
Previously when there was a reference to this section of the handbook the language that was constantly used was the word “Should” and now the word is “Must”. It seemed like the word MUST was … (22 comments)
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appraisal: The For Sale by Owner Transactions, Always a Challenge
- 08/28/14 09:20 PM
“The For Sale by Owner Transactions, Always a Challenge” I received a call a few weeks ago from someone that was interested in selling her home to the current tenant. She wanted to know if I could get a mortgage done for the tenant. I told her I would be happy to speak to her tenant, even though 50% of the time, I end up wasting my time, so my odds of being able to do a mortgage in this transaction is not good. She told me they had agreed upon a price, but nothing else. I asked her … (25 comments)
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appraisal: Why Should I Use a Realtor to Sell My Home?
- 07/25/14 02:05 AM
“Why Should I Use a Realtor to Sell My Home?” Unfortunately more home sellers are asking this question. They bring up Zillow and Trulia as ways to circumvent having to pay a Realtor, which is absolutely crazy. The truth is home sellers don't save anything, as a matter of fact they more often end up with less money. Furthermore, buyers aren’t stupid they calculate the math and just make lower offers. I have been reading for two days that Zillow is considering the purchase of Trulia and some prognosticators are predicting the end of MLS and the real estate … (47 comments)
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appraisal: “Switching Loan Products in the Middle of a Transaction”
- 04/20/14 10:12 PM
“Switching Loan Products in the Middle of a Transaction” Sometimes a mortgage doesn’t work out the way it’s supposed to. So, is there a fix, a solution that can still work? Amy called my office yesterday morning. She had just been denied by her bank for an FHA mortgage. The problem, the appraisal indicated a number of issue and repairs that were required and they wouldn’t do the mortgage. After talking her off the cliff, I asked if she could get me a copy of the appraisal. She told me that it was bank policy not to share … (44 comments)
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appraisal: “Appraisals Aren’t Always Equal”
- 03/09/14 10:15 PM
“Appraisals Aren’t Always Equal” Clients of mine were in the process of purchasing a historic home in a village setting. Their credit was great, they were putting $100,000 down on a $400,000 purchase, so far all was great. The appraisal was completed and the value came in above the sales price, but we had a problem. There were no comparables that were considered historic homes. The home was built between 1880 and 1890, the style was a Victorian. All the comps were from the same town and all were colonials built between 1998 and 2009. All sold above the … (44 comments)
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appraisal: “Renegotiating After a Disappointing Appraisal”
- 02/25/14 09:41 PM
“Renegotiating After a Disappointing Appraisal”
My clients did a rent with option to buy. They agreed upon a price for this log cabin was $275,000. The agreement was for 3 years and that is a year from now. I let them know at the time we did the application that I was concerned about the appraisal. First, there are not a lot of log cabin comparable sales and second, based on square footage, I felt there might be an issue.
Sure enough, the appraisal came in at $246,000. I sent over the appraisal and they were going … (35 comments)
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appraisal: “Some Purchase Agreements, Create Problems, Part 1”
- 01/02/14 10:26 PM
“Some Purchase Agreements, Create Problems, Part 1” INSURED WITH THE FOLLOWING ESCROW REPAIR ITEMS: Replace Doorbell (Wire currently exposed) 100.00 Replace Hot Water Baseboard Covers 200.00 Replace Outlet Covers 50.00 This clause was included in a purchase agreement that I received this morning. A clause like this may be OK between buyer and seller, but not with the lender. The loan will be a conventional mortgage with 5% down. There will be a home inspection, that I’m sure will bring up each item and an appraisal will do the same. Between, the clause in the purchase agreement, the … (23 comments)
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appraisal: “We’ve been attempting to Refinancing for 3 Years”
- 12/17/13 10:15 PM
“We’ve been attempting to Refinance for 3 Years”
Vlad had me in tears this morning. He and his wife had been attempting to refinance for the last 3 years. 3 banks, 4 mortgage companies and 5 appraisals later, but “You saved our lives”. Wow, what a statement.
They bought their home at the TOP of the market and did an interest only mortgage that started with a teaser rate of 3.25% and when we paid off their mortgage the rate was 8.25%.
They had two main challenges, they were paying a boatload of student loans for … (20 comments)
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appraisal: “Naive Buyer at an Auction”
- 11/19/13 09:39 PM
“Naive Buyer at an Auction”
I got a call from someone looking for a mortgage on a home she was the successful bidder at an auction. She purchased with no contingencies of any kind, which were the terms of the auction. Unfortunately, this was a disaster in the making.
She purchased the property for $119,400. She has a $15,000 deposit at risk. Even though she has good credit, a good down payment, she cannot get access to the property to do an inspection or to have an appraisal done.
She told me that from what she saw the day … (11 comments)
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appraisal: “Sharks Among Us”
- 11/13/13 09:47 PM
“Sharks Among Us”
I just got through reading an email from someone that was referred by an existing client. She asked me to call her in the morning to discuss a mortgage that she needs as she is in the process of buying a home from her grandparents.
She indicated that she mistakenly got on Lending Tree, looking for mortgage information. She put in some basic information and then started getting calls and she got “SOLD by a shark”. She did a mortgage application, paid for an appraisal and was supposed to close a week ago. The … (24 comments)
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appraisal: “Why are we Spending the Money for a New Appraisal?”
- 11/04/13 11:47 PM
“Why are we Spending the Money for a New Appraisal?”
I understand the problem, but it is such a waste of money. There are often situations when a bank, credit union, banker or mortgage company denies someone for a mortgage. Very often an appraisal was already paid for and completed and that appraisal cannot be used by another lender when the folks are doing a conventional mortgage.
I met with clients last week to discuss a refinance. They shared with me that they had been denied by two local banks. In each case they went through the … (39 comments)
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appraisal: “Appraisals that Involve Acreage”
- 10/21/13 10:57 PM
“Appraisals that Involve Acreage”
It’s all about the comps.
I receive a call from a Realtor who was in the process of selling a home on 16 acres. She told me there are literally no comparable sales with over 3 acres, but much of the value of the property is in the land.
I asked what the sale price is going to be. How much would the property sell for without the additional acreage? It was going to be a problem, as there was about $100,000 difference. I asked if there were any comps in … (22 comments)
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appraisal: “Have You Ever Wondered Why Someone Didn’t Refinance When Rates Were in the 3’s?”
- 10/10/13 10:45 PM
“Have You Ever Wondered Why Someone Didn’t Refinance When Rates Were in the 3’s?”
Judy told me she wasn’t willing to go through the hassle AGAIN. She refinanced in 2004 and swore she would never do it again. She was recently divorced last time around and felt that what she was being asked to pride was an invasion of privacy.
Brenda and Terry had a bankruptcy a few years earlier and felt no one would want to give them another mortgage. They also said they were afraid to look at their credit, expecting it to look like crap.
Albert knew … (12 comments)
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appraisal: “Home Inspector Mixed up Reports”
- 10/07/13 10:31 PM
“Home Inspector Mixed up Reports”
I got a panicked phone call from a client buying their first home. They indicated they were backing out on the purchase because the home was in pretty bad condition. I asked that they send me a copy of the report so that I could review it.
I didn’t get past the first page and realized it was the wrong address. I immediately called the client to explain what had happened. He said he had to get off the phone and call the Realtor back, as he had called to back out of … (62 comments)
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appraisal: “Lower Loan Limits, Will This Move Help Anyone?”
- 09/26/13 05:41 AM
“Lower Loan Limits, Will This Move Help Anyone?”
Do you keep hearing about Washington looking at reducing the current mortgage loan limits? Can someone explain the rational?
We do a good amount of Jumbo loans, even though the rates for these loans are extremely good right now, that will not be the case sometime in the future. If loan limits will be lowered, that means more loans will become jumbo loans and cost the public a higher monthly payment.
Also since real estate values have increased in the last two years and more Americans are building equity … (2 comments)
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appraisal: “Liens on Your Property Just Don’t Disappear”
- 09/26/13 05:39 AM
“Liens on Your Property Just Don’t Disappear”
During the normal course of a mortgage refinance, I will ask many questions. Two of which include what the cash out, if any, will be use for and are there any liens on the property other than the mortgage or mortgages.
Every once in a while someone will say NO, but should have said YES. Every once and a while, you just have this feeling that someone isn’t giving you the entire story, this was one of those times.
Brenda had acquired her property as part of a … (3 comments)
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appraisal: “Increased Values Help Many that Couldn’t Refinance”
- 09/04/13 10:44 PM
“Increased Values Help Many that Couldn’t Refinance”
There are many homeowners that wanted to refinance, but couldn’t. There were programs for folks that had mortgages owned by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA loans and the value was lower than the mortgage(s). There were many that didn’t fit into this category that had no options, but wanted to keep owning their homes and kept paying.
Jeff and Brenda did a mortgage application with me a year ago, but the appraisal came out too low. Last time around the appraisal came in … (52 comments)
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appraisal: “When the Home is 50% of the Value”
- 09/04/13 02:03 AM
“When the Home is 50% of the Value”
A couple of months ago a Realtor from MA, called saying that she had read a number of my blogs and thought I might be able to solve a problem on a transaction she was having.
The problem was that the property she was selling was small (950 sq. ft.) included a 34’ by 42’ garage and was on 6.6 acres of land. She never had used a mortgage broker in the past, only local banks, but none of them would do the mortgage. That … (23 comments)
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appraisal: “Property Taxes Don’t Always Make Sense”
- 09/01/13 10:46 PM
“Property Taxes Don’t Always Make Sense” I am in the process of doing a mortgage application for clients buying a foreclosure. The purchase price is $245,000 and the property taxes are $13,400 a year. Comparable price range properties would be about half that amount. In going back into the records, the same property sold for $564,000 in 2006. One of the buyers is an attorney and will be attempting to get the assessment reduced once the closing takes place. I have explained many times, don’t expect towns to change assessments on their own, as long as they can keep … (23 comments)
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appraisal: “How Much Value Does an In-Ground Pool Add?
- 08/02/13 10:31 PM
“How Much Value Does an In-Ground Pool Add? I’m sure I am not alone in having to address this question. I have purchased many home over the years with pools that were going to be flipped. When purchasing some of these properties, the pool was in bad shape and would been too much of an expense to renovate or repair. The next step in those cases was a bulldozer. OK, so what is marginal or above condition? We have spent between $3,000 and $8,000 to make them beautiful. Was it worth the expense? When I reviewed the appraisals, I … (21 comments)
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