Buyer's appraisal issues

[Allende Hernandez]

Hello folks,

I am going through my very first deal and though the rehab side went very smooth, I've had some other circumstances that have made the sales side very difficult.

Finally I got my buyers and the latest of the issues is that the appraiser discovered that the county got the SqFt wrong in their records so the value is greatly affected. Me being screwed by the county let aside for the moment, I believe the appraiser (VA appraiser) did not use the best comps in the area. I even sent him a couple of older properties in the area, sold in 2017 that are smaller than mine, not renovated and still sold at a higher price. I didn't get a convincing response from him but the appraised value is still lower than contract.

Can I challenge the buyers appraisal? What would you do in this situation?. I am at a point of almost cutting even (depending on the final value which I don't now yet, he only said it was under contract) or loosing money on a deal I've been in for about 9-10 months.

Thank you all in advance!

[Christopher Phillips]

@Allende Hernandez

VA has an appraisal appeals process called "reconsideration of value." The process allows the buyer, the seller, or an agent to challenge the appraisal. Submitting comps or upgrades that were missed with written explanations of why they should be considered, or evidence of errors.

Person to speak with would be with the lender involved.

The square footage thing will need to be resolved. If the county is wrong, you need to contact the assessor and get it corrected.