Dear Joan,
I am, or was, in the process of selling
my home through a Realtor I respect and trust. Unfortunately, my Realtor
did not bring the buyer so she had no control or ability to suggest a
lender for the buyers. I am unfamiliar with the lending institution for
my buyer, and worse yet, have never heard of the appraiser this lender
hired.
Now the appraisal has come in
substantially different than the agreed upon purchase price. I have no
idea why, and when we ask for a copy of the appraisal to look at the
comparable sales (of which there are several to substantiate our price),
the buyers say they do not have the appraisal, only the results, and
want us to just lower our price accordingly.
The loan is at a standstill and
it looks like the whole deal may blow up with us starting over looking
for a new buyer. How does this happen that one uninformed appraiser has
the power to do this?
Dear Appraiser Miffed Seller,
Your question magnifies many difficulties
that have come out of the government reaction to the housing bust of
2008. I do not know if the appraiser used in your situation was “spot
on” with his appraisal, since we all have difficulty seeing our own
property with objective vision, or if there is a substantial error
there. I can explain your other concerns and the best path to take.
First, as a reaction to the
housing crash that started in about 2008, part of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Protection Act of 2010 was passed to try to eliminate
close relationships with banks and appraisers, which they felt was
partly responsible for the gross quantities of poor loans that were
made. This act formed appraisal management companies that were to assign
appraisers when the lender called, instead of the lender being able to
call whomever they wanted. This, of course, caused more problems than it
solved by often choosing appraisers unfamiliar with the various areas
to which they were sent.
Second, as far as getting a copy
of the appraisal, the truth is the buyers do not automatically get a
copy of the appraisal because, although the buyer pays for it, the
lender orders it and therefore owns the appraisal. A federal law has
finally been passed that says if the buyer asks, in writing, for a copy
of the appraisal they paid for, it has to be given to them.
As far as what to do next, there
are no easy solutions. You can have your Realtor attempt to get the
comparable sales (if they truly are comparable) that you know of to the
buyer’s agent to give to their lender. However, having an appraiser
change his conclusion is nearly unheard of, for a lot of reasons.
If the buyers are still willing to
purchase your home at the agreed upon price, you can offer to pay for
another appraisal, but only if their lender would agree to consider it.
This is also a difficult process to accomplish. Probably your best bet
is to try to negotiate with the buyers.
If they really want the house, and the
timing for your closing is important to you, then there usually is a way
that your Realtors can make it work. In addition to marketing skills,
one of the most important skills your Realtor can have is being able to
skillfully negotiate compromises to keep a contract on track all the way
to closing. Best of luck to you!
Joan Harned is an owner and
broker for Keller Williams Mountain Properties and heads up Team Black
Bear, her own real estate team. Harned has sold real estate in Eagle
County for 27 years. Contact Harned with your real estate questions at
Joan@TeamBlackBear.com, 970-337-7777 or www.TeamBlackBear.com.
Originally published on 11/29/14 in the Vail Daily and can be seen here.
