I hear a lot of agents complain about getting their deals blown up by low appraisals oftentimes performed by non-local appraisers assigned by the"independent" companies that were setup as a buffer by the Federal Gov.
Banks/lenders/mortgage brokers are no longer allowed to order appraisals directly and must use the services of an independent company that will assign appraisers. Therefore it is not uncommon to get a non-local appraiser who is unfamiliar with the market. Hence the high risk for a low appraisal...
Some creative agents have proposed to put language in the listing and contract requiring a local appraiser be used. In all practicality that will not fix the problem because the intermediaries do not have to abide by that clause since the bank cannot tell them what to do; and there are some bad local appraisers in any market anyway. It is like saying that only a local agent can properly market and sell real estate. A good agent can sell anywhere because he/she has the proper skills to quickly study and understand any market.
So what is the solution ?
From my personal experience, the best approach is for you to pull the 4-5 best recent comparable sales and listings. Meet the appraiser, spend the time tactfully educating him/her about the market and the comps (Give him/her as much as you can). It is how you present it: "Mr Appraiser, as you probably know the house down the street suffered from... hence the low price. I noted this on the data printout for you...
Instead of fighting and complaining, I find it is better to be part of the solution by preventing the issues through collaboration with the appraiser. As long as you are providing factual market evidence, the appraiser must take that into account, and you are not unduly influencing their value opinion...
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