I am crushed. so crushed. Partial UPDATE UPDATE 8/25/08:

The house appraised for LESS. by $13,000.00

I don't know what to do. I am on the phone will my mortgage rep now.

UPDATE:

I just spoke with my agent. she called the appraiser who KINDLY spent 2 hours on the phone with her going over every comp, every statistic and guidline he used.

even she had to agree (and she's also the sellers agent!) that it was fair.

the seller is still trying to get more money for it...she asked if we would meet her somewhere..which we MIGHT have considered but the bank basically said no.

I have no idea what she's going to say at this point....besides a big NO THANK YOU.

so we'll be out the money on the inspection, and WORSE, we'll lose a lock on an interest rate that probably won't be seen again for a while.

I think if this doesn't work out I'm gonna suggest a break from house hunting.

UPDATE:

We are back in business. the seller accepted our offer of $3k over the appraised value still with an extremely ambitious close of next week

I am just waiting for the addendum to come in from her lawyer to get through the banks.

I ripped more new aholes today than "newbie" day at the county jail , but we are back on track.

thank you all for your support, advice, and well wishes.

Message edited 8/25/2008 5:25:41 PM.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

so what does this mean?

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

it means one of two things

best case scenario

the seller sells us the house for the appraised fmv and we pay less.

worst case scenario

she decides not to sell and we lose it.

and then we'll be back to the drawing board...oh well. I just have always liked this house so much. we'll see what happens.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

I pray that the seller lowers the selling price. 13k isn't that much of a big deal in the grand scheme of things! hang in there!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Why did it appraise for lower? What comps did they use?

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

If the house appraised for less, I have a feeling the seller will feel motivated to lower the price that $13,000 -- or run the risk of having the same problems with the next buyer.

Good luck!!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Message edited 11/21/2011 3:28:21 PM.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

I hope all still works out for you!!!!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

if you really love the house and they won't come down in price, I would not let that stand between you and your dreams.

and besides, the buyers determine the value of a home, not an appraiser. JMO

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Posted by Kara

If the house appraised for less, I have a feeling the seller will feel motivated to lower the price that $13,000 -- or run the risk of having the same problems with the next buyer.

Good luck!!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

What did your mortgage rep say? Honestly, I don't think the seller is going to have a choice. Depending on how much $$ you put down, no bank is going to give a mortgage that's more than the appraised value.

I bet it all works out!!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

oh wow.

I'm so sorry.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

It's not as bad as it sounds.

1/ the mortgage will only be approved for the estimated value.

2/ If you REALLY want the house, you can pay for the difference. So you can still have the house, assuming you do have the $13K yourself. In the long run, the $13K you "overpaid" for the house, might not be significant in X number of years.

3/ the seller will go down. Most likely or not sell at all. But she will have the same issue with any other potential buyer. I don't think $13K is a deal breaker, really but you just never know.

Dropping the price is the most likely scenario.

GL!!!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

I'm sorry. I know what you're going through because although I didn't mention it here, the same thing happened to us. The appraisal was under by a few thousand dollars.

When we got the report, we found out that the inspector didn't actually go inside the house and he had missed a few things that would make a difference in price.

We had a second appraisal done by a different appraiser, and it came in a few thousand above the selling price.

Until that happened though, we were considering making up the difference because the sellers were very firm on the price. Not to mention, we were worried about our downpayment and what the contract said about that situation. I would read your contract over with your lawyer and get your options laid out for you.

Another appraisal will cost a few hundred (our sellers agreed to pay for that cost) but in the end, it was worth it.

I hope it works out for you, good luck. It may not be the end.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Posted by Kara

If the house appraised for less, I have a feeling the seller will feel motivated to lower the price that $13,000 -- or run the risk of having the same problems with the next buyer.

Good luck!!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

as much as I LOOOOVVVEEE this house, I don't think that buying a house IN THIS MARKET for over the value is very wise.

the market keeps taking hits and values are still falling, so what is now "just" 13K could just get worse.

my dream is to own a house I love...not to own it despite its value.

we put a contingency in the contract stating the contract was also conditioned upon thehouse being appraised for the purchase price by the lender...so we are covered there.

the agent told the seller yesterday, and she was incredulous of course.

the home still appraised for a nice chunk over what she paid for it 6 years ago (thank you Zillow lol) but considering she had it priced 34k ABOVE what we had agreed upon to start with (she'd lowered it 30k before we even made an offer, and accepted at 4k below that) I am not sure what she will do.

the bank has already stated they won't give us the mortgage unless the purchase price equals the appraised value...and in this crazy market I don't blame them.

we should find out something today.

thanks girls.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Posted by rkoenke

Posted by Kara

If the house appraised for less, I have a feeling the seller will feel motivated to lower the price that $13,000 -- or run the risk of having the same problems with the next buyer.

Good luck!!

OR the next buyer will have the extra $13,000.00 to put down on the house...
But, that means that the sellers have to find that person...

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Good luck!

I think the seller would be silly not to lower the price, especially if they are in a rush to sell. I hope it all works out for you!

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Jess,

I hope this works out for you.

If it does not, it was not meant to be. The Seller really has nowhere to go here, as no matter who she sells to they will run into the same problem.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

I hope it works out for you and if it doesnt there are tons of houses out there. Good Luck

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Posted by Ophelia

as much as I LOOOOVVVEEE this house, I don't think that buying a house IN THIS MARKET for over the value is very wise.

the market keeps taking hits and values are still falling, so what is now "just" 13K could just get worse.

my dream is to own a house I love...not to own it despite its value.

we put a contingency in the contract stating the contract was also conditioned upon thehouse being appraised for the purchase price by the lender...so we are covered there.

the agent told the seller yesterday, and she was incredulous of course.

the home still appraised for a nice chunk over what she paid for it 6 years ago (thank you Zillow lol) but considering she had it priced 34k ABOVE what we had agreed upon to start with (she'd lowered it 30k before we even made an offer, and accepted at 4k below that) I am not sure what she will do.

the bank has already stated they won't give us the mortgage unless the purchase price equals the appraised value...and in this crazy market I don't blame them.

we should find out something today.

thanks girls.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Re: I am crushed. so crushed.

Ugh, I don't blame you for being upset. When we bought, we got the house for 20K below the current value at the time (which was rocky, and still is a bit).

I think you mentioned it, but definitely think long and hard about what you want to do. One of the things that I am still nervous about is that WE created the "new comp" in our neighborhood and essentially drew prices down below where it hadn't been for a while.

So of course a house recently sold for 5K below us (it was in need of a total renovation) but I still got the "ohhh geez" feeling.

I'm wishing you tons of good luck! I personally would want them to reduce it to 13K - and maybe 15K to weather any issues out. GOOD LUCK GIRL!