WebFire;664914 wrote:So he's been there once and told you to paint? Or first visit is Monday?

(she)

First visit is Monday, but the realtor sent her pictures. She said he paint would need to be updated. I am so pissed, but it has to be done. I have a contraption all set for tomorrow. The only reason I am so pissed is because of the location I need to paint. It has the potential to be very dangerous.

Good luck painting in sub-freezing weather.

Only took an hour with my contraption. Old pole-vault pole with extension on the end of it. About 16-17 feet of reach. Not perfect, but it is done and ready. Realtor was there watching/helping, so I have witness.

FYI, I got a clean inspection and appraisal. House is appraised for about $7,500 more than we're paying, so that is good.

Mine is tomorrow. Wish me luck.

WebFire;679149 wrote:Mine is tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Good luck!

WebFire;679149 wrote:Mine is tomorrow. Wish me luck.

I know it's early yet, but provide updates when you get 'em.

She's supposed to be there around 3-3:30. She described herself as a grey-haired old lady. The only attic access she wants is to reach up and take a picture. She sounds very nice. Hopefully she'll look past some of the things I'm worried about.

Appraisal seemed to go well. She didn't look the place over like I anticipated. Seemed more like a general appraisal. We'll know in a week or so.

My appraisal passed with flying colors. $2k shy of what we wanted, but I think the surrounding sales screwed us on that. The appraisal wasn't much more than a standard one. All the stuff I read did not happen.

WebFire;680586 wrote:She's supposed to be there around 3-3:30. She described herself as a grey-haired old lady. The only attic access she wants is to reach up and take a picture. She sounds very nice. Hopefully she'll look past some of the things I'm worried about.

FHA only requires what's called a "head and shoulders" inspection of crawlspaces and attics. So, basically, we stick our head in and snap a picture.

WebFire;682327 wrote:Appraisal seemed to go well. She didn't look the place over like I anticipated. Seemed more like a general appraisal. We'll know in a week or so.

As I posted earlier, FHA is relaxing lots of its previous rules. They've also cut out most barriers to be on the FHA Roster. Sign up and you are all of a sudden an FHA expert. There used to be an entry test and our work was reviewed periodically, but not anymore. Not sure what you mean by general appraisal.

WebFire;694862 wrote:My appraisal passed with flying colors. $2k shy of what we wanted, but I think the surrounding sales screwed us on that. The appraisal wasn't much more than a standard one. All the stuff I read did not happen.

It was a 1004 form with all the proper addendums, which is what HUD requires. The similar surrounding sales are what the value is based on, so the sales couldn't have "screwed" you. The value is what it is based the appraiser's reconciliation of those sales. That's where the line gets blurry regarding value. It's very subjective, which is what opens the door for foul play.

Steel Valley Football;694996 wrote: It was a 1004 form with all the proper addendums, which is what HUD requires. The similar surrounding sales are what the value is based on, so the sales couldn't have "screwed" you. The value is what it is based the appraiser's reconciliation of those sales. That's where the line gets blurry regarding value. It's very subjective, which is what opens the door for foul play.

No, it screwed us. One of the 3 she chose to use was a foreclosure that sold for $70k. When our friend owned it, they built a new house and sold it for in the 90s. There are shitty, small ranches asking $95+. But they aren't similar to our house (ours is a big old house with character). She had to go to the next town over just to get comparable sales (in size and age), but nothing decent has sold over there recently.

She even mentioned the trouble she was having with it. Oh well. It got us the refi.

WebFire;695345 wrote:No, it screwed us. One of the 3 she chose to use was a foreclosure that sold for $70k. When our friend owned it, they built a new house and sold it for in the 90s. There are shitty, small ranches asking $95+. But they aren't similar to our house (ours is a big old house with character). She had to go to the next town over just to get comparable sales (in size and age), but nothing decent has sold over there recently.

She even mentioned the trouble she was having with it. Oh well. It got us the refi.

There's likely more to it than what you are privy to. Beyond that, the sales didn't screw you. If anything, the appraiser didn't reconcile correctly, but I doubt she placed much weight, if any, on the foreclosure comp. That foreclosure comp may have also been an arms-length sale for all you know. It may have been listed and sat on the market just like a regular sale.

I also don't get at all what you are saying about your friend building a new house. Why does that matter?

Not sure if this has been suggested already as I am not going to read through every post, but I have encountered this type of thing before. The FHA appraiser is obviously protecting the "investment" of the lender in case of foreclosure. All you need to do is negotiate the price down because of costs you will incur because of repairs you are required to make. I have done it before. I had to replace a septic tank at a property I was investing in. The seller deducted the estimated cost off the purchase price.

Steel Valley Football;695445 wrote:There's likely more to it than what you are privy to. Beyond that, the sales didn't screw you. If anything, the appraiser didn't reconcile correctly, but I doubt she placed much weight, if any, on the foreclosure comp. That foreclosure comp may have also been an arms-length sale for all you know. It may have been listed and sat on the market just like a regular sale.

I also don't get at all what you are saying about your friend building a new house. Why does that matter?

Haha. Building a house had nothing to do with it. The house that sold for $70k was previously owned by my friend. He built a new house and sold this same $70k house for $90+.

She must have put some weight on the foreclosure. She listed 6 properties total, but chose that one as one of the "official" 3.

WebFire;695568 wrote:Haha. Building a house had nothing to do with it. The house that sold for $70k was previously owned by my friend. He built a new house and sold this same $70k house for $90+.

She must have put some weight on the foreclosure. She listed 6 properties total, but chose that one as one of the "official" 3.

There is no such thing as "official" comps. I think it's a case of you not understanding what you are looking at.

dwccrew;695510 wrote:Not sure if this has been suggested already as I am not going to read through every post, but I have encountered this type of thing before. The FHA appraiser is obviously protecting the "investment" of the lender in case of foreclosure. All you need to do is negotiate the price down because of costs you will incur because of repairs you are required to make. I have done it before. I had to replace a septic tank at a property I was investing in. The seller deducted the estimated cost off the purchase price.

If anything, the appraiser is just erring on the side of caution; taking a conservative approach. They weren't likely interested one iota in the lender's position, especially for an FHA loan.

We signed our lives away yesterday. Closed on the house. Now we just need to sell ours!

Steel Valley Football;695633 wrote:There is no such thing as "official" comps. I think it's a case of you not understanding what you are looking at.

Hence the quotes around official. She has to provide 3, but she also opted to list some additionals for reference. The way the appraisal reads, there are 3 that are used "officially".

I think you are looking into what I am saying too much. I am just implying that there wasn't a good selection of sold houses that compared to ours. When the house for sale down the street that is almost half the size, with less features, is asking more than yours appraised for, it's aggravating.

WebFire;695713 wrote:Hence the quotes around official. She has to provide 3, but she also opted to list some additionals for reference. The way the appraisal reads, there are 3 that are used "officially".

I think you are looking into what I am saying too much. I am just implying that there wasn't a good selection of sold houses that compared to ours. When the house for sale down the street that is almost half the size, with less features, is asking more than yours appraised for, it's aggravating.

Fair enough. My point was that just because the comps are listed in the 1-3 columns doesn't mean they were weighted any more or less, or at all. Sometimes the last comp listed is one that was found later because it sold after the report was almost done. Obviously, the most recent comps are desirable.

Also, appraisers are required to use at least three comps but often provide more only to make it appear they did more research and therefore provided a better report. However, most of the time in situations like yours where sales are limited, the other comps are just for show and all the weight was put on one comp.

Lastly, don't read too much into list prices. List prices are simply pulled out of thin air by a realtor who may or may not know their butt from their elbow or they might have a homeowner behind the scenes insisting on listing it high. Watch to see how long it sits on the market and for for price reductions as a sign it was listed too high.

That's the problem with getting an appraisal right now; the market still is not good. I see houses listed for way too much, and others that seem underpriced but not selling. But, we got the refi, and that's the main thing right now.