Real Estate Views from St Pete

I have enquired of three appraisers recently. One that represents County Wide shared that they are comparing what other reo's and short sales listing are priced at on the mls. Wow. It is counted and weighed

Very interesting information from your appraiser.  I had two of my homes appraised in the last two weeks and I have been worried about the appraisals coming in okay.  So far, no troubles and no mention of 90 days.  What a nightmare that would be.  

I haven't heard of this particular situation, but many more appraisals are being reviewed and getting a second opinion before they accept them.  They also require the appraisers to indicate the declining market situation and this must allow for the price to go down and still have the loan covered.  Makes it more difficult for sure.

Hi Sharon,

No as far as I know, we have not experienced this in my area of SoCal, however I'm not one bit surprised at all.

Val - it does make sense to compare a home with other alternatives on the market as well as comparable sales. Relo companies have required this for a long time in Broker Price Opinions.

Sherry - I think all of worry more about appraisals. I blogged a while back about a home that took three appraisals and five weeks to proceed forward. Some "additional information" requirements may also relate to the borrower's credit scores and Loan to Value ratio.

Linda - this is one of the times that an appraiser's experience makes a difference. Some appraisers haven't been through a declining market before.

Lynda - I wonder if that's because prices in your area haven't declined so much... 

I have also been asked for more recent comps. If they are not available I must make a percentage allowance to account for declining prices. I had to do this when I was first appraising back in the early 90's. It won't stay like this for long - it is an election year and things will turn around, albeit slowly.

When looking at a potential listing this week, the owners presented me a copy of the appraisal from when they purchased the property.  The comps used were pretty bad (although good comps were limited) and the zoning was marketed incorrectly (a big impact on this particular property).

Imagine this varies by area. There are many segments on our NV side of the market that have no comparables for a lot longer than 90 days. We do hear about things not appraising, but thankfully none of ours so far.

best holiday wishes, twice now. 

Connie - sometimes I expect the lender to ask for more comps, and they don't. I find most lenders really don't want an adjustment for either increasing or declining prices.

Randy - how long ago was that purchase appraisal? A year old appraisal isn't any better than a year old comp.

Gary and Richard - glad you and your properties have escaped the Appraisal Wrath. I and mine had, too, until this summer. I'll take all good holiday wishes, once, twice, or a thousand times. Hope 2008 is wonderful for both of you as well. 

 

Lingonberry - hmmm, that's very Swedish. I love Swedish pancakes (the thin crepe-like pancake) with lingonberries. 

Hi Sharon, talk about a catch 22 spiraling downward. I gotta say, that for lenders that were so quickly to lend money, they seem to be going to the extreme & opposite end.

If there are no comps within 90 days, then is it better to say you can't use them? or better to say that at least ONE comp (even as a 4th comp) should be from last 90 days, even if its further than the typical mile guideline.

I see another issue, as an appraiser, I'm looking to USPAP for my guidelines, not the lenders. Sure we can try to accommodate lenders, but not be driven by them. 

Nick, thanks for your professional comments. Lenders, like most everyone and everything in life, seems to swing to the extremes and never stop in the middle.