oh, and they cab make or kill your deal if the value is not there.  You are right curb appeal is the giant key

oh, and they cab make or kill your deal if the value is not there.  You are right curb appeal is the giant key

yep curb appeal has a lot to do with it, but some of the lenders make them jump through hoops of late....with all the extra comps

All true points.  It's important to price your home according to the comps.  If you can't find comps to support your price, an appraised isn't going to either. 

Appraisers often don't get inside the property to see how it REALLY looks. Curb appeal is SO important!

Dave you are absolutely correct.  In today's market - the first place that tightening up occured was with the appraisals.  The general public doesn't understand that having the best and biggest in the neighborhood isn't always a good thing.  Prestigously, yes, but as far as value ... if there aren't any comps - the lenders cannot warrant the marketability should the mortgage default.  I have seen underwriter's pick apart appraisal after appraisal.  Lenders just aren't willing to take a chance on an over inflated value placed on a property.  To somewhat alleviate appraisal problems, find a reputable appraiser that you trust that can do a little preliminary research to insure that their are comps available that meet the neighborhood requirements that support value.  They can do this at their desks.  Also, make sure your appraiser dots his/her i's and crosses his/her t's.  If a simple matter is left undone...underwriter's tend to really search for anything to question at that point.

The exterior of a home is a great indication of what you will find inside.  Neat, clean, well-maintained, etc.

Appraisers expectations have certainly changed in this market.  Lenders expect much better comps. 

I just had some buyers under contract on a home that wouldn't appraise for the negotiated sales price and the sellers wouldn't adjust the price to meet the appraised value.  We found another home for the buyers and that overpriced house is now off the market.  The sellers will be staying put for a while.

Bryan Flynn - I have found that most of the time when additional comps are requested, it is because somewhere on page 2 of the appraisal the comps don't follow the rules.  1.  bracketing site size, square footage, room count.  2.  line adjustments cannot be over 10%, Net 15%, and Gross 25%.  3.  If the property is urban, the comps have to be within 1 mile, suburban 3 mi, rural 10 mi.  4.  The recent sales date on all have to be within the last 6 months.  5.  At least 2 comps have to have the same bedroom count.  6.  Automatically flagged by the underwrtier when any time adjustments are made.  ALSO at the top of page 2 it asks for the number and range of sold and pending sale properties within the neighborhood (a lot of appraisers leave this off).  Still on page 2... look for (this is a biggie) an ammenity that has an adjustment across the board... e.i. subject has a basement and none of the comps do.   Also, look at your map - and page 1 of the appraisal, draw a line around the neighborhood boundary description.  Are your comps and subjects contained within the boundary?  Are your comps all on one side of the subject?  Does a main road or natural boundary break the subject from the comps?  These are some of the things that underwriters look for to queu them to request an additional comp.  Let your appraisers know, they appreciate knowing what is being scrutinized... preferably before you send the appraisal to be approved.

To Joe -- My local ReMax has some of the best agents.  They - you guys - are so helpful in letting potential listings and FSBOs know what their neighbors sold their homes for... always giving them a good idea of where pricing should be.

To Susan -- My lenders are requiring full appraisals.  9 months ago they would take the 1004/70 appraisal form without interiors, when they started requiring them (I read the descriptions from the lenders and a 1004/70 is supposed to contain interior photos... have all along.  I found it strange when I do get a 2055 form requested.  I usually go ahead and get full appraisals on all of my transactions... costs the same... why not?

To Lorrie -- GOOD FOR YOU !!!  Way to put integrity and compassion into the picture... not to mention protecting your client --- I'll bet you get many referrals  through the pure act of pressing on.

To Linda -- You know... funny thing with Lenders... I was looking back through some old customer files from 1998 to 2003, just to check and see if a refinance may be a good possibility.  Well, I pulled the actual files and honestly... I can definately see why the lender's cracked down on appraisals, I think they used to just ignore them - ALL EXCEPT the bottom of Page 2 "AS IS VALUE $*****.***"