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I purchased a home (got a reall good deal since owner didn't use an agent, and me (didn't use an agent either). We worked things out and I got the price about 6% off true market value. It would have been his full price listing with an agent and he knew I could close in 30 days.
Anyways, same exact homes sold by same builder in same neighbords were $580-585K. Those homes were approx 4000 sq ft. I was under contract for 542K. Pavers, pool, solar, granite....all very similar homes inside since we were inside all those homes before.
He appraised the home I was going to buy for $535K. Than I saw the sq footage. He got my sq footage correctly. He got the comps sq footage correctly. But for the third home, he chose another home 2 miles away in a different subvision. And it was officially 4450 sq foot on the official property appraisal website (heated, real sq footage here).
Well what does the apprasial do? He moves the sq footage down by 100 sq foot. So it's not 4340. Why is that important? Cause it brings it within 10% of the sq foot of my home I was buying. And it was a short sale for much less to drive down the comps. I told the appraisal why he did this? He said the bank needed lowest appraised value since my contract price was so low to began with. I asked him why he didn't use the same comp (house was 3550 sq feet) next door. Why didn't he fudge those numbers up by 50 sq feet to have 3 comparables since it would make it within the 10% rule.
Duh. Cause that would make my appraisal go over 590K for a 542K contract price.
These were all homes that closed within a 45 day period also.
It's a mute point with me since I was bringing more than 25% down payment. But for someone else, they could have gotten screwed.
Thanks all, but there are no extenuating structural reasons for the bad measurement. His drawing in the appraisal is very obviously wrong in every measurement.
I've been trying to burrow into the numbers. The lowest $/gross sf of the 5 comps used is $137.10. At that price and correct measurement my building comes to $408k rather than $325k. And the comp closest geographically is much higher, $154, but since it was a listing not a sale he discounted the price $30k even though Zillow currently shows it in contract at asking. Even the highest sale price of the 5 is a butt ugly vinyl sided job compared to my brick with facade details and cornice.
When he's done playing around with the $/rm and $/bdrm, prices come out much lower, though the 2 highest $/bdrm would still put me well north of $350k. But it's all so pat, he's got the value per unit, per rm, per sq ft & per bdrm all falling between $321-330. Makes me wonder if the bad measure was deliberate to make everything fall into place without an outlier.
And this isn't a situation where your rowhouse has 3 floors above ground, but one is really considered a basement?
That's what my TH is like - 3 floors all above-grade, but they don't count the bottom one for some reason (half of which is a garage, the other half is normal finished area w/ back exit). So sometimes I get 2316 sqft, sometimes 2960 (including the 644 in the finished "basement"). The basic info records on Redfin (from the County) are all over the place - for the exact same model home in our neighborhood I've seen probably 5 different numbers.
And this isn't a situation where your rowhouse has 3 floors above ground, but one is really considered a basement?
That's what my TH is like - 3 floors all above-grade, but they don't count the bottom one for some reason (half of which is a garage, the other half is normal finished area w/ back exit). So sometimes I get 2316 sqft, sometimes 2960 (including the 644 in the finished "basement"). The basic info records on Redfin (from the County) are all over the place - for the exact same model home in our neighborhood I've seen probably 5 different numbers.
No, the ground floor is 100% above ground and all living area or halls, and the basement is not living space. There is no garage. Like I've said, the errors are perfectly clear in his drawings. But paranoid as it seems I'm starting to believe it was done to make the numbers conform. I saw him measure, I held the end of the tape for him, how could he have screwed up that badly?
If there is a screw up on the appraisal they have to come back out and do it again. There is no way the bank can take that appraisal unless they want to portfolio the loan.
I have no idea how they sell the note in the future with a false appraisal.
If there is a screw up on the appraisal they have to come back out and do it again. There is no way the bank can take that appraisal unless they want to portfolio the loan.
I have no idea how they sell the note in the future with a false appraisal.
Now that's an interesting point, the mortgage banker's license could be in jeopardy knowingly using a defective appraisal. My wife's sharp eyes just saw the bedroom count was off too, being 6 rather than the actual 7, so the bedroom method gives $378k. So 2 of the 4 sales valuation methods are wrong.
I just sent the banker an email insisting again on a revision. I was temped to mention the fact that one of my tenants in another property is an attorney in the state Dept of Consumer Affairs. Perhaps it will come to that.
Now that's an interesting point, the mortgage banker's license could be in jeopardy knowingly using a defective appraisal. My wife's sharp eyes just saw the bedroom count was off too, being 6 rather than the actual 7, so the bedroom method gives $378k. So 2 of the 4 sales valuation methods are wrong.
I just sent the banker an email insisting again on a revision. I was temped to mention the fact that one of my tenants in another property is an attorney in the state Dept of Consumer Affairs. Perhaps it will come to that.
Not only that, but the broker replied to you in WRITING that he admits to a screw up, just not a change in value.
I am a broker. I know their language and that guy seems to have no problem with fraud at all because he just wants to close the loan and doesnt want to take 3 days out to get the guy to do a proper job.
I doubt the NMLS has much terror for him as he's not a RE broker of any kind, nor a mortgage broker, but a "Mortgage Loan Officer" of a major bank's mortgage division.
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