Released on: March 17, 2008, 7:13 am

Press Release Author: pardeep batra

Industry: Human Resources

Press Release Summary: Before you sign a contract to sell your home, check to see if
the purchase offer depends on financing. Look for a clause which states that the
offer is contingent on your home\'s appraisal done by the buyer\'s mortgage lender.
This clause causes many home sellers to lose the sale or to lower the sales price
later.

Press Release Body: Before you sign a contract to sell your home, check to see if
the purchase offer depends on financing. Look for a clause which states that the
offer is contingent on your home\'s appraisal done by the buyer\'s mortgage lender.
This clause causes many home sellers to lose the sale or to lower the sales price
later.

Appraisers draw on comparable market sales (comps) of local properties sold within
the last six months to value your home. With today�s rapidly rising seller�s
market, six-month-old information is ancient history. Appraised value does not
always equal the true market value, or what the home will sell for on the open
market.

Realtors will give you a comparative market analysis, an informal estimate of market
value based on comparable sales. Lenders, on the other hand, will use the appraised
value to determine a new mortgage amount. Some lenders require that the stated
property value covers the mortgage amount plus their selling costs in case of
foreclosure. For this reason, a sale may fall through if a home sells on the open
market for more than the appraised value, which often happens in bidding wars over
hot property.

We learned the importance of securing a sufficiently high appraisal when we sold a
rental property in Lake Elsinore, California. We listed the house for $234,700 on
Friday. By Monday morning, we had three offers: $245,000, $255,000, and $260,000. We
accepted the one for $255,000 because the buyers had $80,000 down, reassuring us
that they had sufficient funds.

As usual, the lender sent an appraiser to review the property. This busy appraiser
didn\'t take the time to view all the upgrades we put into the custom-built home.
Even worse, he used only comps from the local one-mile radius. Because this home is
close to a shopping district, there were not many homes sold in this limited area
during the six-month period.

The appraiser used comps six months old; during this time housing costs in Southern
California appreciated around thirty percent. Sales from six months previous should
have gone up in value by $30,000 on a $200,000 home. This means that our home should
have been worth $250,000 to $260,000, especially since buyers are willing to pay
this price on the open market. To increase the value of this home, at the time there
was not another three bedroom home listed in the area for under $250,000 (excluding
manufactured homes). However, the appraiser valued our home for only $230,000 -- and
we would have lost the sale if the offer did not include a sufficient down payment.

Because a low appraisal can kill your sale, finding a buyer with a large down
payment provides you with a safety net. You may also choose a buyer with strong
credit who doesn\'t have to put a large percentage down. If you think that your
home�s appraisal could become a problem, make sure you don\'t include a clause in
your sale�s contract which states \"subject to appraisal.\"


How to Avoid Low Appraisals

Hire your own appraiser before the sale. Then ask your buyer�s or lender�s
appraiser to review your appraisal.

Retain the option to approve your buyer�s mortgage lender. Make sure that the
buyer doesn\'t use a lender with a history of deliberately underestimating property
values. A good real estate agent should know which lenders routinely under value
homes.

Keep records of repairs and upgrades, including costs. Take \"before\" and \"after\"
photographs. Create an organized journal with a listing of expenses and include
pictures to show to the appraiser during the appraisal appointment. Stage your home
for the appraiser like you do for buyers.

Secure your own property comparables to make sure the appraiser uses complete
information. Call real estate agents with homes in escrow and get the sales prices.
Make a list of these properties with the agent�s phone numbers and give it to the
appraiser.


What to Do When Your Selling Appraisal Comes in Too Low:

1. Ask for another appraisal.

2. Protest the appraisal with documentation of your upgraded expenses.

3. Have the buyers make a larger down payment.


When you sell or buy real estate, remember that the certified appraisal is just one
person�s opinion of the value of your home. The opinion that counts for you is the
buyer�s: you want to be sure the buyer values your home above all others.


Web Site: http://www.thedesignbuild.com

Contact Details: pardeep batra S/O Sh Manoj batra,V.P.O. and near bus stand
ghagga,ward no-4,distt-patiala,email-pardeepbatra87@gmail.com