Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-13-2012, 08:23 AM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
4,359 posts, read 7,478,456 times
Reputation: 1611

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by XRiteMA98 View Post
I guess that each person should get their house appraised by a professional appraser at his own expense (about $300). I heard that this is a decisive factor in getting one's assesment corrected. Unfortunately i found out too late. But if after my informal review or whatever is called they 'll get back to me and say no, the value of the house is still 50% the 2002 you can bet I'll hire an appraiser and re-appeal. I understand that would be the formal one when you go in front of a judge or something.

My guess is that they pulled numbers out of a hat with this so called "re-assesment".
Honestly, pay for the apraisal. It is a lot easier in the long run. The BPAAR and the Board of Viewers both love cases that have an appraisal. As an added bonus the appraisal indicate the square footage of the house which is basically what the computer models use to arrive at a value.

My opinion, is that many time homeowner only look at the "low" comps and completely ignore the "high" comps. An appriaser will be open minded.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-13-2012, 08:52 AM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,859,479 times
Reputation: 2910
As an aside, it looks like up to 20% of the properties may appeal (it could also be less). Even assuming all those appeals are meritorious, and each one requires a full appraisal, if the computer model can get 80% about right without an appraisal, that saves the taxpayers a lot of money.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 09:13 AM
 
408 posts, read 987,833 times
Reputation: 146
Quote:
Originally Posted by algia View Post

In Florida RE's would bribe appraisers during the bubble years to appraise homes ABOVE their value. This was a HUGE part of the problem, and was what eventually burst that bubble. You can only inflate the price so much for a 3 bedroom house...you know? these people would take a home valued at $150k and appraise it at $350k....one of our last homes that we sold for $200k sold after us at $400k, and then came back down to $189!!!!! soooooo.....
It's still in the best interest of an appraiser to appraise at the contract price even if it is above the true value, and exactly why I think I overpaid for my house.

When I was shopping for mortgage companies they all had their own appraiser that you were forced to use. These companies also all sell the mortgages to a larger investor-driven mortgage holder immediately after inking the deal. So, they really don't care as long as it looks good on the books.. it's most profitable for them to get the deal done and move on to the next.

If you were the lender at closing, would you pick an appraiser that refused 50% of the properties (which means time and effort on paperwork that you receive no pay for), or would you pick the guy that's going to make everything look nice and tidy on every deal?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 09:14 AM
 
408 posts, read 987,833 times
Reputation: 146
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
As an aside, it looks like up to 20% of the properties may appeal (it could also be less). Even assuming all those appeals are meritorious, and each one requires a full appraisal, if the computer model can get 80% about right without an appraisal, that saves the taxpayers a lot of money.
Maybe I should get a 2nd job as an appraiser to help pay off my increased taxes.. seems like it will be a hot market here for a while..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 09:43 AM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,859,479 times
Reputation: 2910
Quote:
Originally Posted by tranceFusion View Post
Maybe I should get a 2nd job as an appraiser to help pay off my increased taxes.. seems like it will be a hot market here for a while..
Perhaps. Based on anecdotes, I think a lot of those appeals may not be meritorious and the owner may not hire an appraiser.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 10:04 AM
 
5,453 posts, read 9,245,509 times
Reputation: 2141
I would pick the appraiser that doesn't make overpay for the house! The "mortgage" is paid by ME, and not the appreiser!

That is why i said they need to sit down and establish guidelines!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 10:09 AM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
4,359 posts, read 7,478,456 times
Reputation: 1611
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
As an aside, it looks like up to 20% of the properties may appeal (it could also be less). Even assuming all those appeals are meritorious, and each one requires a full appraisal, if the computer model can get 80% about right without an appraisal, that saves the taxpayers a lot of money.

Not exactly, school district and municipalities don't appeal the low assessments so it isn't exactly true to say that 80% are accurate. 80% weren't appealed is different.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 10:32 AM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,859,479 times
Reputation: 2910
Quote:
Originally Posted by robrobrob View Post
Not exactly, school district and municipalities don't appeal the low assessments so it isn't exactly true to say that 80% are accurate. 80% weren't appealed is different.
That's a fair point. However, assessments that are too low raise different public policy issues--to the extent there is an appeal by the taxing jurisdiction, for example, the owner may not be out of pocket for an appraisal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 10:38 AM
 
408 posts, read 987,833 times
Reputation: 146
Quote:
Originally Posted by algia View Post
I would pick the appraiser that doesn't make overpay for the house! The "mortgage" is paid by ME, and not the appreiser!

That is why i said they need to sit down and establish guidelines!

Like I said, the mortgage company picks the appraiser. The one they "trust" aka makes the process go as cost effectively as possible.

The appraisers appraise the house at the contract price. Unless it's ridiculously overpriced, they appraise at the contract price. That way the buyer gets the house and the owners don't feel like theys got lowballed. Everybody is happy and the deal goes through.

It is very hard to get an accurate estimates for homes around here, with so many streets built at different times and the terrain and so much variety in the conditions of the older housing stock, plus so much difference in the local municipalities and school districts. As an outsider coming in and saying "wow, I would have paid 2x as much elsewhere" it's not cut and dry to realize you are paying 20% too much.

If my house was moved 200 yards it would be worth less because I'd be sitting in a flood zone. It's not like cookie-cutter housing built on large flat plots that you see in suburbs in most parts of the US where every house is identical (minus needed repairs).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2012, 10:48 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,530,389 times
Reputation: 5162
Quote:
Originally Posted by tranceFusion View Post
Like I said, the mortgage company picks the appraiser. The one they "trust" aka makes the process go as cost effectively as possible.
They're more hamstrung now with this because of the new law. The banks don't get to pick their own anymore. They have to hire some middleman outfit whose business it is to arrange blind bids for appraisals, or something like that. I know because my boss here had appraisals done via the bank so they would be valid for refinancing if the value was deemed to be high enough. They cost more than they used to as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top