Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

We are having ours done on Friday--- how soon after do we get the report.. It's just someone from the mortgage company that goes, right?

My broker told me ours was scheduled-- and I am just wondering who else goes-- Of course I am posting here cause I have no patience to wait until tomorrow to call my broker back.

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

we had a drive by appraisal and we had the report the same week. For whatever reason I guess they didn't need to go inside..It looks like they went based on other houses in the area. BUT I found some things were wrong. IT said we had a full finished basement-the house doesnt have a basement, and it said 3 bedrooms, but the house has 5.
Our mortgage broker said not to worry about it, you dont want it to appraise for less before the closing???? Doesnt make any sense to me,but whatever

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

Randell,
Your broker will get the report and then can pass it on to youy usually takes about 3-5 days.
Raken,
I don't understand that. If you are buying a house with 5 BD that would or should appraise for more than a 3 BD. Sounds like your broker doesn't know what he's doing. Is this a cash deal or are you getting a mortgage?

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

we're getting a mortgage..
I dont know if it would work out the same since it says it has 3 bedrooms and a full basement
or 5 bedrooms with no basement..

and how can they tell anyway but just doing a drive by?? Its crazy. I dont understand it. So whenever we have to get it appraised again, the appraisal is going to be so wrong

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

The mortgage company sends an appraiser. There's no need for anyone else to be there other than someone (generally the homeowner or RE agent) to let them in the house.

They'll do a simple inspection of the house and then check out comparable sales in the area.

The reports are generally ready in a few days (we shoot for next day delivery). If you want a copy of the appraisal, ask your loan officer.

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

Thanks for the info...

Is there like an average on how much more or less a home gets appraised for? Or does it depend on area, etc.

Generally also-- is a home appraised at around the seller's asking price?

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

There's no "average" - its based on how your agreed upon purchase price (not asking/list price) relates to whats selling in your area.

Your selling price is considered a good indicator of what the house is worth (since thats what someone is willing to pay for it), so most appraisals typically arent *that* far off the selling price (and often appraisers try to match that price to make the banks happy)

But its not uncommon for appraisals to come in higher or lower than the purchase price.

For you as the buyer, all you need to worry about is that the appraised value is at least your purchase price. When they come in lower, the bank may ask for more of a downpayment from you.

Message edited 8/4/2005 7:17:16 PM.

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

Most appraisals in NY arrive at a value for the home by a sales comparison approach. This means they look at your house compared to 3 other similar houses within a 1/2 mile that have sold in the last 6 mos. They then adjust the value of your home according to differences in it from the others. They would probably try to find a 5 BD and if they compared it to another 5BD with a basement they would minus lets say 5,000 from your value. But then if you have an extra bath they would add 8,000. See what I mean. It sounds strange to me that a lender would accept a drive by appraisal. You also want to make sure you get the correct appraisal amount because if you want to take out a HELOC or any kind of refi after you get the house, for the first year lenders will look at the appraisal value or the appraisal value plus improvements with receipts. Understand?

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

I've never known anyone to get a drive by appraisal. I would calll the bank/mortgage company about this.

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

drive by's aren't that uncommon- they're often used for smaller loans (lower loan to value ratios).

Re: Gimme the skinny on Appraisals!

i dont know why they did a drive by-i think that was for our 2nd mtg (a smaller loan) but i'm not sure about the 1st mtg- maybe they went based on a prior appraisal...