Should I use an appraiser to set the sales price on my SF rental?

[Greg Christensen]

I have a rental that the tenant would like to buy. I’d actually like to sell, but the question comes into play on how to set the price. I suggested Realtor assessments, but the tenant feels those may be inflated. His preference is have a 3rd party appraisal. My concern is similar in that I think an appraiser will be too conservative on the price. I’d like some expert opinions here on confidence in using the appraiser’s number as the sales price, or some other option that is fair for both sides.

[Patrick Liska]

who is going to pay for the appraiser ? are you going to share the cost ? The appraiser should give you a fair appraisal on the value of the house if both sides are asking them to do it.  A realtor will just want your business, and it sounds like you want to sell directly to them. your next option is to sit down and go through recently sold homes and find some that are comparable to what you have and work out a fair price based on that. If they are getting a loan, the bank will want the house appraised any way, you can have them sign a purchase agreement for a certain price and have it contingent on the appraised value, but have a way that will allow you to raise the price if it appraises for a lot more, and to get out of the sales agreement if it appraises for more and you can not get them to agree to a higher sales price.