Apprasial question for previously loved home.

Appraisers are bringing their own expertise to each house they appraise to determine the key factors in accessing each individual house. Also, appraisers are pulling actual sales in the last six months or year and pulling actual active homes for sale on the market as well.

Depending on the house, is how each appraisal value is arrived at and as a general rule, they’re looking at:

Year built
How many stories
What the roof is made of
What the floor and walls are made of
Bed/Bath Total
Square footage
Foundation
Basement and attic features, whether they’re finished or not
Off-street parking, driveway, garage, etc.
Appliances
Type of neighborhood (rural, urban, suburban)
Housing market

So in general, for two homes with the exact same size and build and year built, the determining price may have been based on the upkeep of the two different homes.

For a list of 18 items that affect an appraisal visit HomeGo.

You can always bring an “appraisal packet” meaning more than all your comps. Hi-light important facts about the house. They don’t know how old the Hvac is. Or the roof or water heater. Or how the sellers kept up with the quarterly maintenances of their home. The new floors, the fresh paint. I always like to meet my appraiser at the appointment. Not to Per sway them but to simply give them the facts. They just do comps they way we do. You being the listing agent know the goods about the property. And you can make sure the appraiser knows
them too.

With appraisers, you never know what you are going to get. Luck of the draw

Hi Cristi,

This is not very surprising.
Appraisers can come up with different numbers even for the same house. I had a recent case, where they differ $28k between two appraisers within a month period. One was FHA loan and other one was conventional. And one of the appraiser took the foreclosure and relocation sales, other one did not. You can ask for the appraiser report and check how they justify it. Except choosing the comp, also deciding the condition of the house,B, C C1 C2 etc can effect significantly.

I hope you will find a solution that will work out for buyers, seller.

Regards,

Cagdas Acar
Msc PSA CPE VLB
832-283-1091
www,homeswithcagdas.com
acarster@gmail.com

I think the people here have already provided some insight, but my personal opinion is that it depends on the nature and build of the house. Unless they are exactly the same, it's hard to say how the appraisals will turn out. Anyway, I'm sure you can still contend if you have the time and money to do so!

Cristi this is an interesting scenario, and that is a large spread between price/sq foot. I hope it works out in your favor, and it might be as simple as one of the appraisers took lot location/ trees into very strong consideration. Real estate always has surprises in store! Best of luck with the listings!

I agree with all previous answers, but the simplest answer if all items are exactly the same as far as sqft, lot size, year built, bedrooms, bathrooms and condition/upgrades, basically you are looking at 2 identical homes, then your answer will be 2 different appraisers. While appraiser have additional resources and tools than a real estate agent, their opinions of values are still subject to the actual appraiser and you will likely not get identical values for the same house let alone a similar home from another appraiser. With the degree of variation, I would assume that something is different between the 2 homes that is not stated in the statement with your question. You should also keep in mind $/Sqft is simply a tool that will get you in the ball park but the sold price will be more effective when determining value. If you disagree with either appraisal they can be disputed if you feel that the appraiser overlooked anything or other comparables are more reflective of subject.

There are so many things that an appraiser "can" consider and adjust on the appraisal. The two previous answers are informative, correct, and factors to consider. You didn't mention the square footage of each home. It has been my experience that the larger the home the lower the dollars per square foot its value might be. You also have to consider other factors such as detailed finishes, appliance upgrades, flooring, countertops, backsplashes, hardware packages, AC systems, which aren't all the same. Even though both homes were built by the same builder they could have been upgraded differently at the request of each buyer. There are some builders that will build spec homes and have a basic package on upgrades in each home. If this is the case your question is valid. So many factors that are unknown to give an exact answer in my professional opinion. Hope this helps. Call me if you need additional information. 281-536-4306 or cdkooken@gmail.com

Two different appraisers using different sets of comps. I am just curious if they were the same type of loan? Conventional vs VA or FHA? If they were different loan types they each have their own set of systems and rules to utilize different comps. If you feel one of the appraisals is too low based on your research and comps available you can request for it to be reevaluated. My husband and I had to go through a VA loan protest. In a VA loan process if the home is not going to appraise they will give you a window to submit other comps to possible adjust. My neighbors home appraised higher under a conventional loan because their appraiser used comps that our VA appraiser said he was not allowed to use. Honestly sometimes I am so disappointed and then sometimes I am so relieved and happy with appraisals! I take every cma class I can and I still scratch my head at these appraisals! Good luck and hopefully the lower appraisal did not affect your real estate deal!

There are a few reasons why appraisals of seemingly similar properties may yield different values. First is the actual features / condition of the properties themselves. Beyond being in the same neighborhood and built by the same builder around the same time, the lot size, lot features, lot location (corner, elevated & low traffic lots attract a premium), individual home finishing/features/updates, and the present-day condition of each property can add up to different appraised values. Second is the comparative properties selected in the appraisal of each property and any required adjustments to the comparatives. If the comparative set used in each appraisal is different or the required adjustments not properly done, the resulting appraised values could be different. Third, appraisals are opinions of value, not an exact science and typically offer a valuation range in addition to the estimated value of the specific property. Going through the detail appraisal report for the properties in question should yield some insight into reasons for the different appraisal values.