Yeah, that's right. This is the "NORMAL" Housing Market that you have been waiting on to return. I know this because the appraisal says it. Well, OK. Maybe it doesn't say that exactly but if you read the report you would think it is a pretty good market to sell a house. I remember talking to the appraiser before he went out to the townhouse and I asked how I could help with comps and what our current market was like. He seemed so nice on the telephone.
Yes, he says prices are still declining. But, the inventory is stable (?) and the number of distressed sales are not significant for my area (Really?). Who am I to argue with an expert. I mean after all he does have all the data from the Monmouth County MLS to back up his numbers. And, he found two recent (within a year) of similar homes that sold at a Fair Market Value (FMV). One sold for the new benchmark and the other for $5000 more.
And, yeah. I know you can't use other distressed properties in an appraisal. That's why when he couldn't find any other comparables in that housing community he had to look 2 miles down the street and use a single family detached home to help his averages for the home in the multi-family community (aka - attached dwelling). I fully understand. Why would anyone expect the appraiser to use other townhouses in another multi-family community of attached dwellings that lies a mile away?
What? You say Ocean County has its own MLS and that not all listing and sales in my area get posted in the Monmouth County MLS. Well, still, the apprasier must have enough data in that MLS to come up with his number. Heck, he even gave a discount of $7000 on my listing for necessary repairs of paint and some carpet (not all the carpet) because he did his due diligence and called the other agents to find out that those houses were in pristine condition.
Still, I got the $7000 off the FMV. And, using Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rules we can bring that amount down to a lower net. Wait! No, I didn't. The FMV is the same as that unit that sold as a private sale and was in pristine condition. And, didn't the private sale net less than the amount the property for what it was sold? Sure. That's right. If a person sells a house for $100,000 they don't walk away with $100,000. Their "net" is less commission and other expenses like the real estate transfer tax and attorney bill.
So, that's NORMAL, right? I'm sure I can explain that to a person sitting 2500 miles away in an office and that has never been to this state. The bank executive will just pull out a pen and make some adjustments to the number the appraiser gave to them. They wouldn't tell me that they are just following FHA rules on a short sale would he? Besides, the Monmouth MLS doesn't have this property listed so "it's not listed" and the owner is only allowed the higher percentage number to come up with the "net" figure the bank "must get" for the sale of the property.
Stop your belly aching. This is NORMAL in real estate. In the Army they just call it a Snafu.
Gesundheit!
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