Can Mortgage Co/Banks Devalue A Home

General Real Estate Investing
1

I had a seller to whom I was selling my home for $469 thousand. Asking price was 485 but I really needed to sell and took the first offer. After I accepted the offer the Real Estate brought other buyers and two came up with higher offers. One was $475 and the other was $480 thousand. The Real Estate called the first buyer and informed him that there were higher offers. He, the seller called me and begged me not to sell to anyone else but him, I told him he had to increase his offer since there were other higher offers on the table. He went to 481, we sign contract at the 481…

Part of the reason why I wanted to keep this first buyer was because he was willing to take the house with the existing tennants and others did not want to do so.

The seller bank send an appraiser whom I felt was not a real appraiser because of some of the things he said and did. He first informed me that he is a contractor and I should give him work when I have. His card also came from vistaprint.com. He did not examine the house like most other appraisers. He took two pictures inside the house, also after he came back from upstairs I asked him if he noticed the bathroom had a seperate shower and jacuzzi, he said he didnt notice the shower. He also informed me that other recent sales in the area only went to 455 and 460. I know there were recent comps of higher amounts and I told him so and gave him addresses. I had a very bad feeling then that he was not going to appraise at the asking price and it was confirmed when the appraisal came back for $460.

I told them I wouldn’t sell for any less than the original offer of 469. No one called or contacted me after that until a few days later my lawyer got a new contract or an amendment to the contract as follows… The house would be sold for 483, I would get my 469 ad I would be giving sellers concession of $14 thousand dollars…What? oh no!

What kind of fool do they take me for. I feel that they intentionally devalue the the asking price so I could give sellers concession. The guy had only paid down $5000.00 on contract and was doing 100% financing.

My lawyer cancelled the contract and returned his deposit. I found a buyer on my own and decided to sell for $475, the new appraisal came in for $480, and we will be closing about the 19th of June. How about that? I am very happy I did not sell to the other buyer.

I was wondering if any one else encountered anything like this. There ought to be a law where the buyer and seller should do the appraisal. Since buyers bank can decide to devalue a sellers property.

Thanks for listening.

2

They aren’t “devaluing” a property, just making an estimate of what they think it’s worth to see if it’s worth taking the risk on of lending money on that property. They have every right to use any appraiser of thier choosing to determine the value of your home before they lend money, even if the guy has a Bob the Builder toolbelt.

http://www.toys-to-you.co.uk/acatalog/softtoolbelt.gif

3

It really depends on the bank and the appraiser they use. Maybe that particular bank wasn’t that interested in making the loan. Most of the time if people are using a broker, the broker will find an appraiser that will “hit the numbers” so to speak. Most of the times the appraisal will come in a little higher than the sale price. I think they do that on purpose to make the buyer feel like they got a good deal, it also gives them room in case the seller decides to offer some seller concessions like paying for closing costs.

Not sure about your state, but in my, appraisers have to be licensed. Are you sure this guy was licensed?

4

When I sell a home I usually ask where they are planning on getting their money to make the purchase. World/Wachovia Require their appraisers to come in low. If I’m selling a fixer and they are getting a loan from a large Bank,Chase /wells/us, etc, then I send them to a broker unless they have great repoire with the bank.
Where your buyers money is coming from is one of the most important aspects of the deal, I always ask first before I agree to sell. Then send them to the right money source for your product and help them get what helps you sell. Prequalify your buyers.
Darin

5

As previously mentioned the lender hires a supposed independent appraiser to estimate the value of the property. Typically you would want a trained appraiser whom is certified and affiliated with the professional organizations. Some guy that is/was a contractor and is soliciting business while doing the appraisal should be shown the door. The appraisal process for residential mortgage lending is simply a safety net for the lender so they don’t overloan on a property, the valuations are usually just an exercise to ‘hit the number’ as suggested earlier. IMO these appraisals aren’t worth the paper they are written upon.