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Not even Paris' pad will appraise

By
Home Stager with Transistional Designs, LLC

I recently encountered a situation where a condo we staged sold the first day on market for asking price.  Sounds great, right?  Well, that was before the appraiser was done with it.  The appraiser (who did not even go to the property) appraised the property for $5,000 under the sale price.  According to the appraiser, this was the highest selling condo in the complex and therefore the sale price was too high! 

The seller's realtor went after the lender and the appraiser aggresively and the buyers/lenders/seller were able to acheive a compromise.  

I have been pretty flustered at this situation, and tonight a friend of mine emailed me a story to help me feel better.  She found it on a website called TMZ.com.  Here it is:

Drama at Paris' Pad

Posted Aug 29th 2007 5:55PM by TMZ Staff
Filed under: Wacky and Weird, Paris Hilton

There has been something of a snag in the sale of Paris Hilton's Hollywood Hills pad

       TMZ has learned the house did not appraise for the sale price. Although there are reports it went into escrow for $4.2 mil, Paris' realtor, Mauricio Umansky from the firm Hilton & Hyland, tells us the purchase price is just under that amount.

Umansky, Paris' uncle, acknowledged the highest appraisal the buyer got was $3.6 million. Here's where it gets kind of interesting: Umansky says the purchase price includes furniture and chandeliers totaling between $600,000 and $700,000. He said one chandelier is made by Baccarat -- and only 12 were made. That piece alone is worth 40K.

Umansky says the buyers, a married couple from Texas, will pay the agreed-upon purchase price. He says they're paying mostly cash -- the loan is for $1 million. As a result, Umansky says the appraisal doesn't really mean squat. Umansky tells us the couple will get the keys next week.

 

Nice to know it's not just us regular folks!

Frank Harris
Keller Williams Realty Centre - Columbia, MD
Well there you go. even after the appraisal hoopla, for folks with money... Cash is King.
Aug 30, 2007 04:37 AM
Kathleen Garvey
HomeSmart Cherry Creek - Denver - Denver, CO
Denver's Neighborhood Expert - Listings & Sales
Why are YOU flustered??  This sort of thing happens a lot in real estate......
Aug 30, 2007 05:26 AM
Amanda Woodall
Transistional Designs, LLC - O'Fallon, IL
Transitional Designs, LLC
I have never encountered a situation where the sole basis for the appraisers re-buttal was "no other house in the neighborhood sold for this much"  The next lower house sale was only $5,000 under.  So, now as home sellers, we aren't allowed to ever make more than our neighbors?  This appraisal did not take into consideration any of the upgrades to the home, and in fact the appraiser told the sellers realtor that unless you were upgrading and not just replacing the replacement did not count in the appraisal.  The house that sold for $5,000 under had all original countertops, bathroom fixtures, carpet.  These items (and then some!) had all been replaced by my home owner, but the appraiser told her that did not matter becuase they were just replaced and not upgraded. Her example was you have to replace laminate countertops with stone or solid surface.  You can't replace with newer laminate.  So she is not allowed to sell her place that was updated in 2007 for more than a house that still had all it's original 1970's features?  
Aug 30, 2007 07:22 AM