How To Appeal A Low Appraisal When Selling Your Home

If you care about appeal low appraisal selling, this guide gets straight to the point. We break down what actually matters, skip the fluff, and show you how to put it to work today.

Key Takeaways

• Essentially it was a full price offer for our home.
• The day that the appraiser came out to do the appraisal, my wife was present.
• More importantly, so what can you do when an appraisal comes in low?
• So what should you do when the appraisal comes in low like ours did?

Common Mistakes to Avoid

SharePin11Tweet21Share537 SharesLast month we listed our home for sale, and within a few days we had several showings and a couple of interested buyers.  One of those interested parties made an offer on our house at above our asking price, as long as we would agree to pay a portion of their closing costs. We were excited that our home had sold so fast, but there was still one aspect that had to be done before we could finalize everything and setup the closing.

• The buyer’s lender had to send out an appraiser to appraise our home.  If the house appraised at the agreed upon price, there wouldn’t be an issue.
• Worth noting: if it appraised low, the sales process would be turned on its head and we would be in a situation where we’d either have to appeal the appraisal, come up with a new agreement with the buyers where they would bring more money to the table, or not sell the house.
• She gave him a couple of recent sales that we thought should be used as comparables for the appraisal.  He walked through the house and said that he thought it shouldn’t be a problem getting the house appraised at what we had hoped for.

Is Appeal Low Appraisal Selling Worth It?

A week later we heard back from the buyer that the appraisal had come back almost $20,000 reduce than our contract price, and the deal to sell our home was on thin ice. What are your choices?

• While having a realistic and well researched price on your home is an key point in selling your home, having the appraisal match up with the sales price isn’t consistently as straightforward as it sounds.
• When there are not plenty of recent sales in your neighborhood, a glut of foreclosures or other aspects depressing values, it can cause your home to be appraised at a value reduce than you had hoped.
• Remember that when the appraisal happens experts suggest that sellers attend the appraisal, and that they do their best to educate the appraiser as to how they came up with their sales price, provide them a list of comparable sales and mention anything that may affect demand and pricing in your local area.

Where the Real Savings Hide

What To Do When The Appraisal Comes In Low In our case we didn’t do plenty of due diligence before the appraisal beyond giving the appraiser a couple of comparable recent sales.  In hindsight we wish we had provided him with more information up front to aid in his valuation. Ask for a copy of the appraisal: Get a copy of the appraisal so that you can see how the appraiser came up with his or her value.

• As a rule, search the appraisal for errors: Go over the appraisal with a fine toothed comb to see if there are errors or omissions that could affect the value of your home.
• Did they leave off the finished basement?
• Did they say your home was a 3 bedroom instead of a 4 bedroom?

A Closer Look at Appeal Low Appraisal Selling

See what comparable homes are used: Look at the comp homes used by the appraiser. In short, are they appropriate, and similar enough to your home?  Can you find reasons why some of them should not be used, or why other comps would be better?

• Note any omissions of local real estate conditions:  Look at the appraisal and see if it makes any indication of key local real estate conditions that could cause values to increase.  This was an key one for us.
• We provided several more recent sales that were better comps (with greater values).
• Pointed out a couple of errors:  We pointed out errors in square footage listed for a couple of comps, and then pointed out amenities that were omitted in the appraisal.

What to Know About Appeal Low Appraisal Selling

Worth noting: pointed out a change in market conditions: We pointed out that the real estate market in our city had changed drastically in the last few months as several major employers were opening new locations in the city. There would be thousands of new jobs and new prospective homeowners entering the market.

• We put together our appeal in writing and the buyer’s agent submitted it to the lender asking them to appeal.
• They did, and while it took a while to come back, the appraiser agreed with our feedback and raised the appraisal by $11,500.  Still not as much as we had hoped, but much closer to where we believed the price should be.
• More importantly, according to the feedback that we got the most key points that helped to make our case were the change in market conditions in our area, and the inclusion of several new comps that the appraiser was able to apply.  He agreed that those aspects did in fact provide our home a greater value.

How Appeal Low Appraisal Selling Really Works

Request A Second Appraisal If your appeal of the appraisal value doesn’t come back where you were hoping, you can consistently request that the lender do a second appraisal.  Be sure to ask for someone with local knowledge of market trends and home values. Remember that even if you do a second appraisal, it may not have the result you were hoping for either - and could lead to further expense.

• Before you proceed be sure your opinion of your home’s value is based in fact, and not opinion.
• Remember that settling On A New Deal After the appraisal came back, we agreed to a new deal with the buyers where we would agree to the new reduce price on the house, bu we would no longer be paying part of their closing costs.
• In the end it means that we’ll net about the same amount on the sale of our house.  Everyone is happy.

Getting the Most From Appeal Low Appraisal Selling

So if your appraisal comes back reduce than you had hoped, do some research with your agent and look into filing a challenge to the appraisal. While it doesn’t consistently work, if you have valid new information to provide to the appraiser, they may in fact agree to increase the appraisal.

• As a rule, have you ever had an appraisal come back reduce than you had hoped?
• What did you do?
• Non Financial Considerations Of Selling Your Home: Should You Sell Your House?As a reminder, this is the second post of a two post series helping you answer the question:  Should you sell your house?

Tips That Make a Difference

The first… Is Selling Your Home The Key To An Earlier Retirement?Selling your home before you retire could launch you into a much more comfortable retirement than you would have if you kept your home. In short, here… Financial Considerations Of Selling Your Home: Should You Sell Your House?With the turn of the new year numerous people are considering selling their house and after a new one.  They ask, "Should I sell….

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I save money on appeal low appraisal selling?

Compare prices across a few retailers, look for active coupon codes, and time bigger buys around sales events. We were excited that our home had sold so fast, but there was still one aspect that had to be done before we could finalize everything and setup the closing.

Is it worth shopping around for appeal low appraisal selling?

Usually yes. The buyer’s lender had to send out an appraiser to appraise our home.  If the house appraised at the agreed upon price, there wouldn’t be an issue.

Smart Ways to Save More on Appeal Low Appraisal Selling

• Leave items in your cart for a day; some stores send a follow up discount.
• Pair cashback with a coupon so you save twice on the same order.
• Stack a coupon code with an existing sale whenever the store allows it.
• Sign up for the retailer newsletter to catch first time and seasonal discounts.
• Compare the final price including shipping, not just the headline number.

Final Thoughts

Put these ideas to work and appeal low appraisal selling gets a lot less expensive. Bookmark this page, check back for fresh deals, and let the savings do the talking.

Originally published at biblemoneymatters.com.