Posted by robert aguirre on December 19, 2006 at 19:15:03:
when the appraisal report comes in short and the seller does not want to sell at appraised value, who cancels escrow?
What can I do for a unfair Appraisal? - Posted by Chris
Posted by Chris on October 29, 2005 at 19:58:38:
I am selling my home and within 7 days of listing my home I had two full price offers.
After accepting one we were getting ready to close on Nov. 1
The apprasier appraised the house for only 145,000 when the sale price is 156,000 - my wife is the owner agent and the apprasier told her to get him comps with square footage. Isn’t that his job?
I got a copy of the apprasial the guy couldn’t even match the right address with the correct picture.
I have had two other apprasials that said the square footage is 1200 - this guy come in at 1077
He also says that the house down the street is bigger than ours when there is no way it is 300 sq feet more.
Long story short I hired my own apprasier and she said it would be no problem getting $156,000 for my home.
I think the apprasier and buyer are in it togather trying to get a lower purchase price.
Is there any legal action I can take against the apprasier for having the wrong square footage and blowing my purchase contract? THe other buyer for my home has already purchased a home.
Thanks,
Chris
Re: What can I do for a unfair Appraisal? - Posted by River City
Posted by River City on October 30, 2005 at 10:12:23:
The appraiser appears to have based the value on the 1077 square foot. If you can prove to the appraiser that the square footage of the home is 1200, you need to do this. Just telling him/her will not do. If you have the builder’s plans or something similar, produce it. Another thing you can use is the tax statement. The tax assessor might be online for your state. If so, you should be able to pull up your property and view the details of the home including the square foot.
Since the appraiser used 1077, he/she based the comparables on homes that were similar and the value would more than likely be justified. If he/she had the value incorrect based on the comps, the underwriter would have adjusted it.
And no, it is not the appraisers duty to go any further. If the realtor has better comps for the home and/or can prove the square footage is higher, then the realtor should produce the documents to support.
Good luck.