What Do You Do If The Appraisal In Charlotte, NC. Comes Back Low

In this ever changing market in the Charlotte, NC. area the one variable that seems to be the unknown variable with all transactions is the appraisal. Yes, we have seen an uptick in pricing in Charlotte, NC. since last year. Depending on where you are looking to buy a home it can be anywhere from 3% to as high as 10% or more. But how are appraisers viewing the change in the market? Are they adjusting the values to reflect the ever changing market right now? In some cases they are and in more and more cases they are not. Does that mean that the homes in the Charlotte, NC. area are not worth what home buyers are willing to pay for them? Does it mean that due to lack of inventory Realtors are over pricing homes and buyers are panicking and giving the seller s what they are asking without regard to whether it will appraise or not? I personally think it is a mixture of a little of both. yes homes have increased in value because of supply and demand and appraisers for the most part are trying to adjust appraisals in Charlotte to reflect that. But at how much of an increase? I have come across two separate cases in the past two months that an appraisal came in lower than the sale price of the homes. In one case i had the listing and was a little nervous and in the other I had the buyer and felt the offer was fair and the appraisal should not have been an issue. But what do you do if the appraisal comes in to low? I personally ask for the appraisal and go through the comparable that the appraiser used and try to see if there are better comparable for them to use. I also double check the accuracy of the comparable they are using and the neighborhoods to ensure that they are giving the best use and most value to the ones that are in the same neighborhood or close to that home in size and design. Contesting an appraisal is not an easy thing to do. But when we price homes as a realtor and inform our clients of a price to offer on a house the one thing i always do is a market analysis of the property and share with the buyer or the seller what the market is bearing right now and adjust for condition and square footage accordingly. I then pull that out and match my findings with the appraiser’s findings and see what discrepancy we have and argue why some of my comparable are more favorable or theirs are not. It can be a long and tedious process. I have been able to get one of the two appraisals changed to reflect what I felt was a fair price for the house and keep the transaction together at the agreed upon price. On the other one; after a long fight I lost a battle the other agent and I felt we were right in. You are not going to win them all; but at least with the information as to why you agreed to that price at your fingertips and justification you can make a strong argument as to why the appraiser should adjust their value..... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com