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Well, the appraisal came in today. $350k. I'm floored.
It came in below what we needed it to be, below listing, and below purchase price. All in all, $30k below what we needed it to be.
We are waiting to hear back from the seller to see if they'll agree to sell the home for the exact appraisal value and we'll come up with the closing costs on our own.
Wow. That is surprising. Did you and your agent review the comps that the appraiser used. With new laws governing appraisals, many are being done today by appraisers who are not from the area and may not be familiar with local charectoristics which affect values. If you do not feel that they used appropriate comps, your agent should go back to them and explain.
Wow. That is surprising. Did you and your agent review the comps that the appraiser used. With new laws governing appraisals, many are being done today by appraisers who are not from the area and may not be familiar with local charectoristics which affect values. If you do not feel that they used appropriate comps, your agent should go back to them and explain.
I read through the 29 pages of the appraisal report last night. The appraiser, who is an adjunct professor at Baruch, used comps that are close to spot on GLA, but in my opinion, did not compare in any other way. The home I'd like to buy is a corner home with a basement. The comps did not have basements and were situated on narrow streets. However, since we're apart by $30k, my agents are trying to negotiate with the seller. The appraiser did not use any of the comps that my agents provided.
I read through the 29 pages of the appraisal report last night. The appraiser, who is an adjunct professor at Baruch, used comps that are close to spot on GLA, but in my opinion, did not compare in any other way. The home I'd like to buy is a corner home with a basement. The comps did not have basements and were situated on narrow streets. However, since we're apart by $30k, my agents are trying to negotiate with the seller. The appraiser did not use any of the comps that my agents provided.
It might sound cynical, but somewhere along the line, an axle was not greased. This is a rarety.
After some negotiations, working out closing credit with lender, and scraping up some more cash, we are now $5k apart in current negotiations with the seller. We are not willing to go any higher than $5k above appraisal. Still waiting to hear back from sellers after they had offered to sell at $10k above appraisal.
Turns out the seller's agent has been withholding information to try and drive up the purchase price of the home. When the sellers had been presented with the appraisal, they had agreed to split the difference and arrive at $357k. My wife and I had agreed that splitting the difference would be the highest we would go. However, the seller's agent withheld that information and came back to our agents with a price of $360k and threatened to walk away unless we agreed to $360k.
My agents figured something was up because they felt it was odd that the sellers would walk away from a deal over a $5k difference. So they called the seller's attorney directly and uncovered the truth - that the seller's agent has been withholding information from the buyers and sellers in order to drive up the purchase price of the home.
Going forward, my attorney and the seller's attorney have agreed to keep the seller's agent out of the negotiations and deal directly with each other, while keeping our agents in the loop. Looks like we are very close to agreeing to either $355 or $357k. If that's the case, we'll sign the addendum to the contract and set up a closing date. In addition, when all is said and done, we'll most likely pursue some type of disciplinary action against the seller's agent.
Turns out the seller's agent has been withholding information to try and drive up the purchase price of the home. When the sellers had been presented with the appraisal, they had agreed to split the difference and arrive at $357k. My wife and I had agreed that splitting the difference would be the highest we would go. However, the seller's agent withheld that information and came back to our agents with a price of $360k and threatened to walk away unless we agreed to $360k.
My agents figured something was up because they felt it was odd that the sellers would walk away from a deal over a $5k difference. So they called the seller's attorney directly and uncovered the truth - that the seller's agent has been withholding information from the buyers and sellers in order to drive up the purchase price of the home.
Going forward, my attorney and the seller's attorney have agreed to keep the seller's agent out of the negotiations and deal directly with each other, while keeping our agents in the loop. Looks like we are very close to agreeing to either $355 or $357k. If that's the case, we'll sign the addendum to the contract and set up a closing date. In addition, when all is said and done, we'll most likely pursue some type of disciplinary action against the seller's agent.
I just looked back at the MLS listing and noticed that the listing agent is with Realty Connect USA. They are the same agency that screwed my wife and I out of a purchase in Massapequa. In that case, after accepting our offer (which was presented by our buyer's agent), the seller's agent blatantly lied to the sellers and told them that our offer was off the table. He wanted full commission and worked to push his own deal through. I just saw that the offer he had them accept was the exact same amount as the one we offered, so it wasn't a case of him trying to get more for his seller, it was just him getting more for himself.
We have had our own dealings with agents with questionable ethics. Sad to say, but I am not too surprised by either of these stories. Not to say that there aren't agents with good ethics,because there are. But in general, the only people looking out for the buyer and seller are the buyer and seller- no matter how many agents tell you otherwise.
Its different because I am not worried that the appraisal will come in lower than listing or offer because that will be absolutely ludicrous. Considering that the market dictates what a house is worth, the house received at least 4-5 offers within 3 days of being listed. So I know that the house was listed to sell, below its market value and others recognized that as well. But, how much below market value? What I am worried about is the seller's concession.
You're walking away if you have to pay cash for closing, instead of rolling it into the mortgage?
From what I understand sellers consesion is simplying allowing the buyer to pay a higher asking price and rolling the closing costs into the mortgage payment.
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