Appraisers vs. Realtors, why we don't get along

Couldn't disagree with you more!  I'm both a lender and a real estate agent so I see things from both sides of the fence.  I understand your point about agents sometimes not knowing what a comp is, but that doesn't mean that you guys get it right all the time either!

It's part of the real estate agent's job to over-see the entire process for their client.  This means over-seeing the appraisal part of the process too.  If they think that you've blown it, it's their job to try and show you the error of your ways.

As an appraiser, it's your job to take ALL of the pertinent facts into account when determining the value of a property.  If an agent shows you a comparable property that you hadn't considered, be man enough to take it into account and not to get defensive.

As far as underwriters go, yeah...they are getting stricter, but if you as the appraiser think that the value of a property is "x" and the underwriter disagrees, be prepared to argue the point with him/her.  Sometimes you do have to go outside of the box a bit, but being able to do so and still come up with a reasonable value is part of the art of what you do.  Without that "art" part, we could just hand appraising over to the computers!

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc. 

I have my own outlook on this as an appraiser.  I see nothing wrong with looking at comparables provided by agents, I know I'm not perfect and certainly not privey to everything going on in every neighborhood. I find agent's input is important especially in helping me understand the motivation of the buyer for each comp.

Of course, I do reserve the right to reject them or use them at my discretion.  I have been treated with respect for my position and with the exception of not receiving return calls from agents I feel they are for the most part very helpful.

As appraisers, I feel we should keep in mind that what is comparable to  an agent's buyers may not be considered comparable by Fannie guidelines. What I mean is that an agent preparing a list of possible properties to show does not have to conform to such strict guidelines as we do so their outlook may be slightly different.  

I think the other difference that stands out is that a willing seller and a buyer willing to pay the price does not necessarily mean that price is what the property is worth.

In a way, that is sad because it would make our job so much easier...smile....oh, wait, they wouldn't even need us to do our job!!!

Anyway, I saw this thread and am just thinking outloud here.

Alisa