Free: Contests & Raffles.
I'm not sure that I understand the cost vs. benefit of an appraisal waiver. We very recently purchased a house with our son in Montana and when we made the offer we made it contingent on the home appraising at or above what we offered. Not being in the real estate business I wanted to be sure that we were not paying more than the home was worth. We were paying a large percentage down so the lender wasn't concerned about the appraisal but I was uncomfortable signing my name without third party input. It turned out in our favor but really I had no way of knowing that without hiring an apppraiser. Please explain what I'm missing here. Thanks
If you look at what happened in 2008, I wouldn't put much, if any, value on a report generated by someone on a bank approved appraiser list.If you are working with a realtor, they could and should be able to pull comps for you to get an idea where you are. In today's market, if there are multiple offers, by definition that's what the house is worth.If I was going to pay for one, I would stay away from any recommendations from the bank, realtor, or anyone else with a financial interest in the sale closing and try to get as objective of an opinion as possible understanding there are significant limitations on what they can do.
Good to know, but the bank approves which AMCs they will work with, correct? And then the AMC decides which appraisers to use?
The AMC is at risk of the bank dropping them from all future contracts and there will continue to be pressure to produce appraisals that enable loans. The appraiser is at risk for the AMC to drop them from all future contracts as well.My only point is that there is pressure for a bank directed appraisal to come in at or above contract price. I fully agree that getting the bank to waive the requirement is positive as I don't see value in the bank's appraisal. Not to say I don't think appraisals may have value in some cases. To me, it's similar to when a dealership provides a vehicle inspection on a used car they are selling. I'm going to trust a truly independent mechanic way more as they have no pressure to avoid bad news.If I'm going to pay for it, I would much rather have a true third party with no conflicts do the work.Having the bank waive it is a great thing, then people have the choice of not paying for it or buying it from whomever they want.