Low-Ball Appraisals Cause Problems

The original article was posted on the NAR website and I have re-posted it here. I don’t typically copy others’ articles since I enjoy writing my own, but for the sake of getting the word out, because I am in the middle of this problem right now, I thought I’d pass it along:

Real estate practitioners in Nevada, one of the areas hit hardest by foreclosures, say low-ball appraisals are slowing sales and preventing recovery.

Mark Stark, CEO of Prudential Americana Group in Las Vegas, says he thinks appraisers are too focused on projecting how much prices could fall rather than reflecting what values really are.

“The appraisers are being very conservative,” Stark says. “They are trying to cover themselves.”

Mark Madsen, communications director for Raintree Mortgage Services, says appraisers are just doing what they’ve been told. “I think appraisers are scared to get blacklisted,” he explains. “If the appraisals are too high, then banks may no longer accept appraisals from that person.”

Source: Brian Wargo, Las Vegas Sun (06/05/09)

My recent experience involved Bank of America on a beautiful home well worth the offering price in Gilbert, Arizona.  Bank of America’s appraiser came in $20,000 short on a property that was worth every penny of the offering price based on comps and upgrades.  There’s no doubt about it.  As a result, we have been forced into a tailspin of events that have caused everyone grief due to the affect that the appraisal had on the loan to value ratio and the ability for my buyer to obtain conventional financing at that ratio.  It’s a nightmare, to say the least.

The lenders, in conjunction with government regulation, seem to be causing the real estate practitioners to bang their heads against the wall as they attempt to put good buyers into properties that they CAN afford.

Other articles of interest:

• November 29, 2010 -- Tax The Ambitious at 3.8%
• March 30, 2011 -- 15 Years Is Better Than 30
• January 15, 2011 -- The “Should I Short Sale” Chart
• July 25, 2009 -- Even Millionaires Can Do a Short Sale
• July 5, 2011 -- What Would an $80,000 House Really Cost?