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Steps to Handling a Low Appraisal

By July 5, 2018No Comments

In our rising market appraisers sometimes need some help in seeing the value of your home.  Having lived and worked through 7 real estate cycles in my 38 years of experience I’ve found certain practices can minimize a low appraisal. 
Preparation is the solid key. Our unique and efficient market analysis often is all that’s needed (along with meeting the appraiser at the property with proper comparable, information, your upgrades list, and benefits) to prove the value to the buyers and the appraiser. If your property is unique then we may also suggest obtaining a conventional appraisal before its sold.  Having the home be in showcase condition is also important. 
Even with these preventative steps we sometimes still receive a low appraisal and that can be frustrating and a potential deal-breaker. If you’ve done the appropriate research and if all the parties agreed to the price, then we can’t be too far off base, right? So what options are available to you if the appraisal you received isn’t what you expected?
Here are three steps to handling a bad appraisal:
  1. Try to get the appraisal adjusted. Before taking this route, be sure to let your clients know that it’s difficult to get an appraisal changed. You can ask the appraiser to return, provide additional information to support your own findings, or have the lender send out a different appraiser take a look, but this is an extra expense and rarely yields positive results guess there were mistakes made (and this does happen.) 
  2. Apply for a loan with another lender. Another route you can take is to have the buyer apply for a loan with a different lender. There may be new fees incurred, but if you’re sure that the appraisal was simply wrong and you can’t get it changed, this may be the best way to get the property reappraised and produce a more favorable outcome. However, if the home was sold vis FHA or VA financing this will not be an option since appraisals of this type stay with the home for 6 months. 
  3. Have the clients agree to a new price. You may have to ask the buyer to agree to a new price or put in a higher down payment or ask the seller to lower the price to meet the appraisal results. If you’re representing the buyer, you may want to try to get the price renegotiated. Putting the price in line with the appraisal can be a chance to get a better value for your client. In a rising interest rate market they buyers are often willing to negotiate. If you’re representing the seller, your goal is to get the buyer to make a higher down payment — because the lender is really only concerned with the amount of the loan, not the total price of the property.

These negotiations can be tricky, and both sides usually give a little. What happens will depend on the market and how motivated the buyers and sellers are, and it helps to have a seasoned professional working on your behalf. If you have any questions give Me or Jon Burke – my partner and son-in-law a call at 770-726-1454.