[Justme285]

People wonder why houses are not selling...mostly is because people who are selling their houeses what quadruple (plus) of what they paid for it!!

Prices of houses got so far out of hand and the sellers are wondering, "Gee, why can't I sell my house"!!

That is partly of why you see houses just sit on the market for years and years!!

[janette moss]

Originally Posted by Justme285

People wonder why houses are not selling...mostly is because people who are selling their houeses what quadruple (plus) of what they paid for it!!

Prices of houses got so far out of hand and the sellers are wondering, "Gee, why can't I sell my house"!!

That is partly of why you see houses just sit on the market for years and years!!

I know you are right about housing being over-priced!!! We have to stop, drop and roll with the time at hand.

[TaxBait]

Most homes in Michigan are priced well below the cost of building new. So in that sense, they might not considered over-priced. What someone paid 20 or 40 years ago isn't relevant either.

So what is market value? My tax assessor thinks homes are "worth" more that what people are paying. She thinks every recent sale is a distress sale and doesn't reflect market. I'd like to find the state approved definition of market value. To me it's what you could get after some reasonable time on the market. To me, that should be no more than 90 days. If you put your house on the market for 90 days and no one makes an offer that should set the SEV.

[janette moss]

Originally Posted by TaxBait

Most homes in Michigan are priced well below the cost of building new. So in that sense, they might not considered over-priced. What someone paid 20 or 40 years ago isn't relevant either.

So what is market value? My tax assessor thinks homes are "worth" more that what people are paying. She thinks every recent sale is a distress sale and doesn't reflect market. I'd like to find the state approved definition of market value. To me it's what you could get after some reasonable time on the market. To me, that should be no more than 90 days. If you put your house on the market for 90 days and no one makes an offer that should set the SEV.

You sound like a voice of reason. Do you think that having your home appraised has anything to do with what you should sell your home for? Is it like going to an art or antique dealer and each one determines the worth? Do you take the first appraisal or do you get a second or third opinion like you do when you go to a doctor? I always thought appraisals are the opinions of different people. You could pay someone for an appraisal, but does that hold any merrit? Are there certain standards that each appraisal has to "grade" a home by? I surely would like to know.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by janette moss

You sound like a voice of reason. Do you think that having your home appraised has anything to do with what you should sell your home for? Is it like going to an art or antique dealer and each one determines the worth? Do you take the first appraisal or do you get a second or third opinion like you do when you go to a doctor? I always thought appraisals are the opinions of different people. You could pay someone for an appraisal, but does that hold any merrit? Are there certain standards that each appraisal has to "grade" a home by? I surely would like to know.

Generally, getting an appraisal (when not associated with a refi) is pretty accurate. The appraiser usually grabs 3 or 4 homes in your area that have SOLD in the last 6 - 12 months and runs comparable calculations that adjust for the size of the home in comparison, amenities, finished square footage, any lot adjustments and myriad of other factors.

Also, having a licensed realtor run a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) will give you a good idea of what your home should sell for.

A blanket statement though that people are selling homes for quadruple what they paid is a bit (a LOT) exaggerated. Only in some of the hottest markets in Florida, Nevada, Phoenix or California are people doing that. Or prime lakefront property in Michigan has been known to appreciate that fast in a period of 5 - 7 years.

Many seller have their homes overpriced for two reasons: a) they absolutely NEED to get that much for their home because that's close to what they owe plus the realtor's commission, or (b) They are emotionally OVER-attached to the home and think it's worth more than the market says its worth

[janette moss]

Originally Posted by magellan

Generally, getting an appraisal (when not associated with a refi) is pretty accurate. The appraiser usually grabs 3 or 4 homes in your area that have SOLD in the last 6 - 12 months and runs comparable calculations that adjust for the size of the home in comparison, amenities, finished square footage, any lot adjustments and myriad of other factors.

Also, having a licensed realtor run a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) will give you a good idea of what your home should sell for.

A blanket statement though that people are selling homes for quadruple what they paid is a bit (a LOT) exaggerated. Only in some of the hottest markets in Florida, Nevada, Phoenix or California are people doing that. Or prime lakefront property in Michigan has been known to appreciate that fast in a period of 5 - 7 years.

Many seller have their homes overpriced for two reasons: a) they absolutely NEED to get that much for their home because that's close to what they owe plus the realtor's commission, or (b) They are emotionally OVER-attached to the home and think it's worth more than the market says its worth

Thank you Magellan! I did have my realtor to run a CMA. That's how I found out our home and another one is the same price. BINGO--(b) emotionally over-attached to the home and think it's worth more than the market says it's worth -- I believe that is in most cases! Do you think the CMA is just as good as an appraisal? Good observations of common sense!

[magellan]

Originally Posted by janette moss

Thank you Magellan! I did have my realtor to run a CMA. That's how I found out our home and another one is the same price. BINGO--(b) emotionally over-attached to the home and think it's worth more than the market says it's worth -- I believe that is in most cases! Do you think the CMA is just as good as an appraisal? Good observations of common sense!

A lot of that depends on the quality of the real estate agent and the quality of the appraiser. A veteran in either industry who knows your area particularly well could probably come pretty close to each other on price.

[unclebuck]

CMAs and appraisers are not a good way to tell what your home is worth, In a good market they work. but in this market, when prices drop day to day, they do not work, Your home is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not what someone trys to say it is worth.
I sold my home but I fought the appraiser and agent. they said to keep the price at this point, My argument was if I do not get ahead of other people dropping their prices, I will never sell.
I dropped my price to get ahead of the others drop, and sold.
Now the money I got will look good compared to what I could get today.
and what I can get today will be better than what I can get next spring.
The realestate commercial market is faltering, this will make the home realestate market even worse.
Michigans realestate is going to be depression bound.
I have a brother selling and he is holding his price based on the agent to high.
I have recomended he drop if he wants to sell.
Here is a good rule of thumb, if you are not getting at least two or more showings a week, you are to high.
People do not buy if they do not look.
And it is the buyers that set the price in every market not appraisers or agents.
If they wont pony up the dough it aint worth what you are asking.
The problem is that many people owe more than what they can get in michigan. and even though michigan is the worst of the worst, many places are slowing down and homes not selling.
People can not get loans, and are skidish of spending.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by unclebuck

CMAs and appraisers are not a good way to tell what your home is worth, In a good market they work. but in this market, when prices drop day to day, they do not work, Your home is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not what someone trys to say it is worth.
I sold my home but I fought the appraiser and agent. they said to keep the price at this point, My argument was if I do not get ahead of other people dropping their prices, I will never sell.
I dropped my price to get ahead of the others drop, and sold.
Now the money I got will look good compared to what I could get today.
and what I can get today will be better than what I can get next spring.
The realestate commercial market is faltering, this will make the home realestate market even worse.
Michigans realestate is going to be depression bound.
I have a brother selling and he is holding his price based on the agent to high.
I have recomended he drop if he wants to sell.
Here is a good rule of thumb, if you are not getting at least two or more showings a week, you are to high.
People do not buy if they do not look.
And it is the buyers that set the price in every market not appraisers or agents.
If they wont pony up the dough it aint worth what you are asking.
The problem is that many people owe more than what they can get in michigan. and even though michigan is the worst of the worst, many places are slowing down and homes not selling.
People can not get loans, and are skidish of spending.

Well you have to start somewhere unclebuck, and I'd be surprised that a real estate agent would price your home HIGHER than the market. For what purpose? Most agents are interested in selling your home in a timely fashion, not holding out for a little more commission percentage on a little bit higher sales price (that gets eaten up every month by advertising and other expenses). In fact, I know many agents who aren't even taking new listings unless the seller is highly motivated and ready to "price to sell". If your leary of a CMA for 6 - 12 months, tell your agent to only use sold comps for the last 2 - 3 months. That will at least get you within "negotiating range".

[Coldjensens]

We have some odd appraisal issues. We are getting an appraisal for a loan. No one is selling comparable houses in our area. They will not sell them for the prices that they can get right now so there are simply no sales. We live in an upscale area in Michigan where it seems that the majority of the people who want to sell can afford to just wait, so nothing much has sold in our area and price range. The houses that have sold are substantially different (i.e. not on the water, considerably larger or considerably smaller houses, bigger or smaller lots, very different locations). There were two houses sold by auction, and one or two foreclosure sales, but none of those houses are comparable.

We also have a very unique house so that by the time an appraiser makes all of the adjustments, the entire appraisal is pretty much subjective.

I have a couple of questions that maybe someone can answer though. We have a finished basement with two bedrooms, a full bathroom and a game room. There is also a laundry room and a utility room on the unfinished side. Each bedroom has an egress window in a well. There is also an exterior Bilco type stairway from the basement to the outside. The bedrooms, bathroom and gameroom are permitted and fully up to all codes. The finished portion of the basement amounts to 1300 square feet. The unfinished side is about 700 feet more. Some people told me that the basement must be counted in any appraisal, while others said that the appraisal will only consider the finished basement if it is a walkout (which it is not). Is there a standard practice for addressing this or will it vary from appraiser to appraiser?

One potential lender wants to use a specific appraiser. I am not happy with this appraiser. they appear to want to ignore the subjective positives while applying all subjective negatives. If they do an appraisal that we do not like can we just ignore it and get another appraisal from a different appraiser? I understand that we may need to go to a different lender, but I want to make certain that they do not average appraisals or anything. Since many of the appraisal issues will have to be subjective, and there are no true comps, we may well get substantailly different appraisals from different appraisers. Will it hurt us to get multiple appraisals?


thanks