How variable are appraisals?

[Russ B.]

Hi all,

I'm in a situation that's probably pretty common (and where the person in my situation is likely wrong).. maybe someone has some input?

I was looking into refinancing a SFH that I have, in order to purchase another property, but the appraisal came back really low. Most of the time, this situation is due to an unrealistic expectation of what the property is worth, but in this case, I think it might actually be wrong. The house appraised at roughly what I paid for it back in 2011, even though I've improved it greatly (got rid of a hot-pink kitchen, lime-green carpet is now beautiful hardwood floors, and it has a brand new roof). The market in the area should also be stronger today. In fact, it appraised for 20k more back then!

What I think may have happened is that the comparables they show aren't really comparable. All three are smaller than my house, and only one has the same size lot (this one happens to be about 2/3 the size of my house). While it could use a little more polish (small things, like maybe interior paint), it has some major features that those don't have - brick and stone exterior, great fireplaces, etc.

The question is, how variable are appraisals? How much are they based on the appraiser's opinions vs. actual hard facts? How likely is it that a second opinion would come back significantly different (instead of just running the same numbers again)?