Low Appraisal Woes - Seeking Advice

[Jon K.]

I'm in the middle of a cash out refi. We got the results of the appraisal back and it was significantly lower than what I expected. I had hoped for 145, expected it somewhere between 135 and 145.... and got 115. Some of the comps they used were suspect. One was another property I happened to have bought for 95k that was sold as is and needed a fair amount of work. Another is a pending short sale that has zero pictures on its listing and that was the second highest valued comp believe it or not.

The property being appraised wasn't full of high end features but it was recently rehabbed including refinished hardwoods. Properties with high end features in this neighborhood sell for 150 to 160k (multiple examples from the past 6 months). Others that I personally think (and of course I'm probably biased) are closer in value to what I own have recently sold for 125 to 145k.

My lender said they could go back to the appraiser to appeal the number but I'm not optimistic. They also told me that that appraisal would likely be filed in such a way that we'd have to wait 4 months before being able to get another appraisal if we were to abandon the loan and start over later.

"Isn't it possible you're over valuing your property and that it really is only worth 115k?" Sure... but I don't think that's the case. That 95k comp that was sold as is that needed work that I mentioned I own is literally one street over. When that was appraised in October of 2018 they used several comps that sold in the 140 to 150 range from just a few months prior to determine its value (109k as is before being rehabbed). It's the same neighborhood, same layout, same # of beds/baths. Different appraiser of course.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm asking for here other than general advice as to what to do.

[Russell Brazil]

Refi appraisals willl always be more conservative than a sales purchase. When you sell a home 2 things make a huge difference, A) A contract with the sales price substantiating the value and B) a real eatate agent trained in getting the house to appraise and selling it to the appraiser.