Home Apprasial for HELOC

[Michael Chilcott]

I am trying to get a HELOC with a local bank. They gave me an offer 22k heloc with an automatic home appraisal of 112k of the house. I am fairly confident the house will appraise higher with a local appraiser my guess is atleast 125k. My questions are, is it worth the risk to get another appraisal or a waste of 500 dollars. Secondly is there something I should do to get a higher appraisal? Paint the house ($2500) or new roof ($3200)? Or just go the free of charge route and walk away with a line of credit for 22k?

Thanks for your time.

[Jared Standiford]

I just went through this process. First appraisal was a drive by and valued at 270k. I knew it was higher and asked for a walk through, and it valued at 305k. The bank that I went through covered all appraisal costs. I didn't pay a dime. If I were you I'd shop around for a bank that can provide these services without the fee.