Buying a home, apprasial came in for less than offer...

[robphelan]

we just refi'd our house.. bought in 2003 for 169k, appraised in 2007 for 230k, and just now appraised for 224k.

I asked the appraiser what we could do to bring up the value - he said not much other than granite counter tops, but he personally wouldn't do anything unless we wanted to stay in the house for a few years. The smallish upgrades we could afford would not add much to the appraisal, but he offered that it might increase our day-to-day happiness..

you have to balance that expenditure with the return (resale value and/or day-to-day happiness).

 

[magomago]

You can score a 250k house purcased in 2006 for 100k these days easy. Have you not paid attention to home prices?

not in cali

 

[spidey07]

not in cali

That's why people are fleeing your state.

 

[mwtgg]

You can score a 250k house purcased in 2006 for 100k these days easy. Have you not paid attention to home prices?

Once again, it depends on the area.

 

[robphelan]

it's too bad san antonio doesn't have more corp headquarters, manufacturing or other large corps paying decently. the housing bubble hit mildly here. You can purchase something very nice for 350k.

as i mentioned above, our house appraised for 224k. It's 2100 sq ft 4 bed 2bath 1 story on 1/2 acre.

EDIT: a coworker and I were talking earlier that there's no ice in winter, no earthquakes, no tornadoes, no hurricanes.. very little in the way of natural disasters (other than drought conditions in the summer).

 

[the DRIZZLE]

You have a lot of leverage even though there were other bidders. No bank is going to do the loan without a monster down payment, so most of the other bidders will not be able to pay close to the 122k. I don't know how Freddie Mac handles these things but with a private seller I would expect them to come down close to the appraised value.

 

[KK]

Once again, it depends on the area.

yeah, i don't think australia is even close to the states.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

yeah, i don't think australia is even close to the states.

500k medium house price here.

And that's in a city of only 1.5 million.

We never had a crash. There's just way too many people who want to move here. It's worth paying to live in Australia.

 

[m1ldslide1]

yeah, i don't think australia is even close to the states.

Agreed. I just looked and its at least like a thousand miles away.

My town has been kind of in the middle - we've definitely had a bubble burst but it isn't as dramatic as elsewhere. There are great deals to be had, but house prices aren't even back down to where they were in 2002. It isn't as nice a place to live as Australia, but the quality of life is high here for an american city and people still want to live here.

The condo market on the other hand has taken a severe beating - I've heard stories of 50% depreciation and etc. I feel for those poor saps - you can lose your life's savings on that kind of loss. I guess that's why we're supposed to diversify and all that.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

Agreed. I just looked and its at least like a thousand miles away.

My town has been kind of in the middle - we've definitely had a bubble burst but it isn't as dramatic as elsewhere. There are great deals to be had, but house prices aren't even back down to where they were in 2002. It isn't as nice a place to live as Australia, but the quality of life is high here for an american city and people still want to live here.

The condo market on the other hand has taken a severe beating - I've heard stories of 50% depreciation and etc. I feel for those poor saps - you can lose your life's savings on that kind of loss. I guess that's why we're supposed to diversify and all that.

You had to look that up?!

It's only a massive country...

 

[Leros]

You had to look that up?!

It's only a massive country...

You're that island next to New Zealand, right?

 

[DestinyKnight]

I think the house is being low-balled by the appraiser. My insurance company quoted an insurance value of 150K, Zillow and other online real estate appraised the home at 135K, and the neighboring homes are in the 120 - 150k range. It just seems strange that this one would come in at 105k.

edit: and yes, I live in the middle of nowhere....St george, UT

 

[purbeast0]

at the price of $122k only being $17k more than what it appraised for, if it is REALLY the house you want, i would definitely just purchase it if there was a chance I could lose it if I tried to lower the price.

$17k is nothing in the long run.

 

[vi edit]

Maybe pay another $300 for another appraisal? It's really odd wanting the appraisal to come in *higher* on a house you are looking to buy.

Have you talked to your lender/loan officer about the situation and whether they'll actually finance the loan?

 

[Doltmoopsie]

Just like you learn about quantitative computer stuff at Anandtech. You need to find quantitative data about your real estate.

Remember - your real estate agent wants you to buy the house to get the commission, take their advice with a huge grain of salt. Make them work for their money.

[size=+2]The real estate industry benefits from instability in prices and loans. Real Estate agents and loan officers want CHURN, they want you to buy this house NOW and then SELL it again when you can't afford it.[/size]

Walk away. I've had to discuss this with my wife on the emotional vs. financial aspect. [...] Sellers are getting desperate. Very desperate.

You should look up the buyer's price and see what their dollars are worth in that house today. Just use the "Case-Shiller Index". Most of areas have lost 35% since 2005. So offer the seller a 31% loss, and they should be lucky to get that money.

I can write up an example of how to figure this out if people are confused.

OP - take it for what it's worth, it all depends on the location and what's moving in that area. The appraisal said "not worth it". That should be your first clue.

Home prices are only going down in most areas.

If loan prices go up, it will help people with lots of cash for a down payment. So you want to build your income and save your cash!

 

[spacejamz]

What are other similar properties (age, size, etc) in the area going for? Have their appraised values dropped in proportion to the house you are considering?

I wonder how much seller owes (if anything) for it since he bought it for $200K 4 years ago...ouch...

 

[edro]

Is this in a crappy housing development?

 

[DestinyKnight]

Is this in a crappy housing development?

Not really. It's your typical middle class neighborhood. There is a trailer park about a block away though. built in 2000, 3 bed 2 bath, 2 car garage 1200 sqft, .19 acre lot, brick fence, mature landscape, etc.

I've decided to counter at appraisal price and see what happens.

 

[OCGuy]

The amount of misinformation in this thread makes my head hurt.