Appraisal differences

enajasereht

last year

We got 2 appraisals on our property. The difference between them is $45,000. How can they be so far apart in value?

Featured Answer

worthy

last year

last modified: last year

Appraisals are often tailored to suit the purposes of the parties paying for and hoping to benefit from them. There can be quite a difference in perceived values and salability. As private equity lenders, we see, study and reject many appraisals as out-of-date and mis-leading.

No matter.

My favourite was an appraisal of a home with its backyard separated from a graveyard by a four-foot wire fence and no mention being made of any effect on pricing or salability.

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Comments (11)

Rachel
last year
I'm a real estate agent. An appraisal is one person's opinion of what the value is of a property on a given date and they can vary quite a bit . . . as you know. For what purpose did you obtain these appraisals? Were they performed at the same time? A certified appraiser will find comparable properties that have sold most recently to determine a property value.

Usually an appraisal has a lot of detail about the property. You may want to compare these line by line to see if there are any discrepencies. I've seen that before. On one appraisal, the detached garage and an extra room was missing! People make mistakes.
enajasereht
Original Author
last year
Thank you Rachel. Trying to determine fair market value. Is appraised value the same thing?
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pennfire
last year
Are they real appraisals by a certified appraiser or opinions of a potential listing agent? As a former appraiser, I know people outside the business use the term appraisal loosely.
enajasereht
Original Author
last year
They are both legit appraisers.
Rachel
last year
I would look through the detailed specifications on the appraisals and compare along with the comparable properties used.
CA Kate z9
last year
Did they do a true on-property appraisal or was one a driveby or only used old comps? I had that happen with a bank appraisal for a new loan. That appraisal didn’t take into account - or even know about - all the upgrades to the property and house.
drsaj
last year
Our realtor, who was also a certified appraiser herself, left a packet for the appraiser with a list of all the upgrades we made to our home. I believe we ended up with a higher appraisal that way.
nickel_kg
last year
graveyard: quiet neighbors, green open space generally well maintained, what's not to love?
homechef59
last year
As a retired appraiser, I would have to examine the appraisals. The first question I would ask is did they have the same date? Even a single day difference can change valuation. Did they used the same comparable properties in their valuation? Was the purpose of the two appraisals different? Was something material missed in one of the appraisals? Were the same forms used? Was one a drive-by and the other a full, in-person examination? Was this a 3-million-dollar property or 300K? $45,000 difference isn't much on a 3-million-dollar property. It's a huge difference on a 300K property.

As you can see from the questions, there are a lot of moving pieces that really only make sense to an appraiser. All things being equal, the most recent appraisal is given the greatest weight because it is the freshest.
enajasereht
Original Author
last year
homechef59, it was in the 300k range. Thanks for your feedback.