Hard Money Appraisal Lower Than Expected

[Akeem Ogle]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to investing, but have completed deals with hard money financing thus far. However, I am currently trying to piece together a deal with an ARV of 370K (My number) in Atlanta (East Lake Area), but my hard money appraiser has come in at 285K, which does not make the deal viable. The comps that I used were all less than .5 miles away and houses similar to mines once renovated. I even got a realtor familiar with the area to do a CMA, and he came in at 350K, which makes the deal viable. I'm trying to figure out what I'm missing here. Why is the lender coming in so low, and should I trust their number and stay away? A couple of things to note: The lender is based out of Florida, and my property is in Atlanta. Also, the property is located on a busy, main street; however, it is a corner lot with an entrance off of the side street.

Regards,

Akeem Ogle

[Jon Holdman]

A busy street will lower the value A LOT.  I was burned badly in a deal on a busy street.  You CANNOT use comps that are not on the busy street.  That means your choice of comps may be very limited.   If you're using properties away from this busy street as comps, you're going to overestimate the value.  I can't put an exact number on it, but I think a 15% hit for the busy street is very possible. 

That doesn't account for all the difference. But overestimating ARV is a very common issue especially for new investors.