Appraisal with no good comps

[Maxine Kunimura]

I’m having an appraisal on my primary residence. I’ve heard on a podcast it can be helpful to find comps yourself to give to the appraiser. Problem is, my home doesn’t have very many comparable comps. It’s not in a traditional neighborhood - it’s off a county road, near the new MN Vikings training camp and this area is getting pretty hot. The lot is 1.5 acres and one of the smaller lots on the road.

Any advice on the next best thing (as far as comps go)? The homes on this road vary greatly. Even the appraiser seemed to acknowledge that this is more tricky when I spoke with him today.

[Andrew Postell]

@Maxine Kunimura since this is your primary home I would guess that you are using a FHA/Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac/VA type of loan. If that is the case then there are very specific rules to what comps an appraiser can use. Granted, the comparables you find are going to the be the same ones that the appraiser is able to find too.

So if you are trying to find out what the value of your home is beforehand it might be hard but your lender should be able to provide some guidance here. SOME guidance...they may not be able to provide with absolute accuracy what the value will be but some type of help should be expected.  

Likewise with all of these loan types the appraisal is the one thing you "risk" when doing a loan.  Meaning, you pay for it upfront.  However, with some of these refinances you may not even have to order an appraisal.  Some refinances qualify for a "desktop" appraisal.  Not all qualify for this but some do.  If it does, then an automated value can be used by the lender without the need to pay for an appraisal.

This would also mean to talk with your lender.  It's always good practice for what we do to learn how to evaluate property value but if you are having trouble and STILL want to try then ask a realtor what they would think.  That's one of their primary skills that they HAVE to be good at.  Might be a good alternative.

Hope these ideas help in some way. Good luck!