4th in a 4 part series of blog articles submitted by guest contributor, Philip Spool:
“If you are either buying or selling a house and the appraiser comes in lower
than the contract price, consider the appraiser’s restrictions if you are
getting a loan from a bank.
If it is a cash deal, then the appraiser might have been so ingrained to use the restrictive
guidelines by the AMCs they work for that they fail to realize that perhaps
there are sales that can legitimately support the contract price.
If you are a buyer, don’t necessarily think that the appraiser is correct in his/her value.
One has to look at the comparables the appraiser used. Go by those houses, have your Realtor give
you the MLS sheets on those houses and see for yourself if they are inferior,
superior or comparable.
I always encourage the Realtor to supply a list of comparable sales to the appraiser to
support the purchase price.
In some cases, the Realtor knows there is no support and should state that to the buyer
and seller.”
Phil Spool has been appraising in Miami-Dade County since 1973, is a state-certified
general appraiser, is vice president of the Greater Miami Chapter of the
American Society of Appraisers and has published numerous articles in MiamiRealEstateCafe.com, Working
RE Magazine, a national appraisal journal. He can be reached at pgspool@bellsouth.net.
Closing a real estate transaction once an appraisal threatens to derail the whole thing is a challenge … Sometimes it’s a minor hiccup. Other times it requires renegotiating the contract or scrambling to be creative and hold all the moving pieces together. Inevitably though it’s one of those times that both the buyer and the seller count their lucky stars if they have an experienced Realtor on their side. If you’re looking to buy or sell, contact real estate experts Alexandra and Vicki Restivo at EWM Realtors 305 793-1365 restivo.v@ewm.com
