Part 2: Closing my first deal. What I would do differently. Appraisal 1
During the appraisal process, the appraiser raised health and safety concerns regarding my property. Notably, they pointed out the lack of an egress window for an above-ground room, which they considered a health and safety issue. This feedback left me perplexed for several reasons:
- I was under the impression that an appraiser's role was to establish a dollar value for the property, not to provide safety assessments. I believed that was the purpose of hiring an inspector.
- I found it odd that the property was criticized for not having egress windows in an upstairs bedroom. To be clear, the room did have windows, just not ones large enough for a firefighter to fit through.
My lender informed me that despite the lack of egress windows, they could still approve the loan if the issue was addressed. In the end, I covered 75% of the costs associated with installing the egress windows. In retrospect, I wish I had heeded my realtor's advice and attempted to negotiate a 50/50 split for the expenses to rectify the egress window issue."