Appraisal issues plague Real Estate Market

The home was 2801sf and listed for $285,000 there were sales in the neighborhood from $99sf all the way to $108sf. So was the home listed in between the low and high price per square foot, absolutely. The thing that you have to know is that the home was purchase 14 months ago by the owners for $270,000 and it appraised for $270,000.

Everyone was shocked when 14 months later the appraisal came in at $259,000. Which led to the contract having to be cancelled, we challenged the appraisal and in the end the appraiser stood firm with his assessment of the value. You are probably wondering why the sellers were selling after only 14 months right. Relocation for job was the reason.

So we put the home immediately back on the market and received an offer which after negotiating ended up being accepted at $276,000. The buyer?s lender ordered the appraisal and Nick met the appraiser at the home.

When the home was listed the sales substantiated the list price, when the first appraisal was completed there was one new home sold between list date and appraisal date. It sold for $106.44sf, still way above our contract price. Since the contract fell apart, there were no new sales.

Nick met the appraiser and he said he did not see any issues with his preliminary look up. So we waited a few days and the buyer?s agent called and said the home appraised and we are moving forward. I don?t know if I was in shock or so angry at the same time.

Less than 14 days after the first appraisal came in at $259,000 the second appraisal comes in at $276,000 that?s an $18,000 difference and the kicker is that the exact same comparable homes were available for both appraisals.Our seller was relieved and torqued off at the same time, fortunately not at us, but at the appraiser. We pride ourselves on being honest about the value of the homes we sell for our clients. We don?t think that sugar coating or saying we can sell a home above market value just to get a listing is the way to do our business.

So if you really want to know the value of your home and get it sold, give us a call at 813-300-7116 or you can simply click here and we will be in touch. We have assisted hundreds of clients here in the Tampa Bay area sell their homes, we can assist you too.