All Forum Posts by: Robert Kohnfelder

@Will Barnard this brings me to an interesting question... how often do you (or anyone in your network) completely cancel and re-start a loan/appraisal process from scratch, based on an unfairly low appraisal? My last appraisal came in much lower than anticipated -- we even appealed it and got them to "add" a 5th bedroom but somehow refused to adjust the value -- and I had people telling me that I would have been better off eating the time + cost of the loan/appraisal, and rolling the dice with a fresh start. In my situation, this was all happening less than a month before our wedding/honeymoon and the cash-out numbers were still great despite the low appraisal, so we played it safe and went with the initial one. I'm unsure if this is a legitimate option if an appeal doesn't change the value, or if anyone knows if there are "rules" that wouldn't allow it in some instances.

Great info either way!

@Bob Okenwa @Tristan Gardner I think we can all agree that a higher degree of transparency and somewhat of a "standard" would be appreciated when it comes to appraisals. Investors shouldn't have to hope & pray they get a fair appraisal, or that the appraiser isn't going to pull comps/values out of their you-know-what, for lack of a better term. Adding onto what both of you have mentioned, I haven't done too many deals, but out of the handful of appraisers we've dealt with, we've had: polite appraisers who come in high, and polite appraisers who come in low... Rude appraisers who come in low (double whammy), and even rude appraisers who shockingly come in with a fair number. Some of these people scoff when you ask them simple questions about their process.

The key takeaway seems to be that you truly don't know what you're going to get each time you schedule an appraisal, and that's a shame when you have thousands of dollars on the line.

@Bob Okenwa all very solid points... and that kind of confirms the first few appraisers I've dealt with since starting to invest/refi. In my opinion, a house with the same beds, baths and square footage that is 0.1 miles away but in a different borough should take precedence over a "similar" property located two miles away, just because it falls within the same neighborhood on a map. Another thing I was wondering is if appraisers ever use ZIP codes to pull comps, because this property has the same ZIP code as the superior neighborhood. At the very least, I'm hoping that all of these uncertainties will allow a few nearby comps to be factored in, even if they aren't solely used for the value.

Hey All!

A current BRRR rehab project of ours has an interesting location, and I'm wondering if anyone has ever had a similar situation they can elaborate on. Specifically, I'm wondering how it will impact the appraisal a few months down the road... It's a SFH that is situated on one of the last streets in the neighborhood. To clarify, the neighborhood spans about 2 miles (north to south), and this property is located just 4 streets away (0.1 miles) from the southern border, where it crosses into a "nicer" borough.

What I'm wondering is when it comes time for the refinancing process and ultimately, the appraisal, how will comps be pulled? I am imagining the most important factor is the neighborhood where the property is situated, but does that mean a recent sale from 2 miles north will automatically override a similar property/sale from 5 streets away in the other neighborhood, or will both of them be considered? And what if there aren't enough recent sales from our actual neighborhood -- would an appraiser likely pull older comps from the same neighborhood, or look for more recent sales just a few streets over, despite being a different neighborhood/borough/school district? As of right now, there aren't many solid comps and it had me thinking about what our scenario might be in a few months... 

I'm sure others have sold/refinanced houses that are on the border of two neighborhoods, so ANY opinions or outlooks would be much appreciated!

@Evan Polaski all good points -- I appreciate the insight. While a driveway/off-street pad would be ideal, on-street parking in/around the city of Pittsburgh is fairly common, so it shouldn't limit the tenant pool too badly. I have a few other units, none of which have off-street parking, and they do just fine in terms of renting.

Also, I agree about the appliances. I think a new, bright white kitchen will look just fine with clean, newer white appliances... however, my worry is from an appraisal standpoint. Something as simple as an appraiser comparing the home to a similar one that recently sold with stainless steel appliances. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but most realtors in my circle said the safest bet is shelling out for stainless, whether I would do it for my own home or not...

@Stefan D. thanks for the input! Yes I'm leaning towards shelling out the extra money for stainless steel appliances because this property is going to have a fully renovated kitchen -- now would be the time to upgrade. And between the choice of A/C vs. Parking Pad is tough, but I'm leaning towards A/C due to the cost and appeal it would have to a renter. Worried about spending too much for a parking pad that might not get used, and due to it having to be in the back of the house anyway, I'm not sure I could recoup my money on the cash-out refi.

Hi All,

As I enter the rehab phase of my latest BRRRR (Pittsburgh PA), I'm always wondering what we can do to add value to the appraisal when it comes time to refinance in a few months. I am looking for any tips or tricks that could help fetch a solid appraisal value without going overboard on a mid-tier rental/location. Keeping in mind that BR/BA count, square footage and neighborhood are all going to be main appraisal factors (none of which are easy to change), are there any other "minor" improvements that you make for your BRRRR properties? Any that increase rental potential but not appraisal value, or ones that increase appraisal value but maybe not rental potential? I will name just a few that we are considering for the current project...

- Central Air Conditioning: This one feels like a no-brainer, since there is existing ductwork and the place won't be ready until spring/summer, when tenants are in search of rentals with A/C around here. It also would increase the appraisal value without a doubt, right?

- Off-Street Parking Pad: I'm a bit less sold on this one, because the parking pad would have to be in the back yard, with no clear path to enter the house. Parking isn't easy on the street, but if there was a parking pad in the current setup, a tenant would have to walk up the back yard and enter the back/basement door or even walk around to the front door. When the alternative is parking/walking from a few doors down, I'm not sure a renter would pay extra for the pad. However, is that something that an appraiser would look at and immediately add value for, even if it's not an ideal setup? Torn on that idea but leaning towards "no" on this instance.

- Stainless Steel Appliances: I've gotten various opinions on this one, both from online articles and local realtors. Renters and buyers seem to want stainless steel appliances to the point that they'd prefer used stainless over brand new white/black... So my question is, do stainless steel appliances add to the appraised value? For this rehab, there is a newer white (gas) stove and range hood, but old/outdated dishwasher and refrigerator -- so those two need replaced regardless. My question is, should I shell out the extra money for all-new stainless steel appliances, or just clean off the white stove/hood, and save $600-800 by only buying a new white fridge + dishwasher? The entire kitchen (cabinets, sink, counters, etc.) will be brand new, if that makes a difference. My gut says stainless will appeal to renters, but I'm unsure about how it might impact the appraisal. 

Any ideas or opinions are welcome and appreciated!

Just stumbled upon this question as I ran into the same issue... All I had to do was log out of my account, and log right back in... Went to my listings and it now said "published" 

Easy fix, but I agree that their customer service is pretty pathetic, especially when you think about what a major platform they are.

Thanks to everyone for the solid insight. And to your question in the other forum (unsure of how to delete that other post), this house is in Mt. Washington // city of PGH. I don't plan to sell it anytime soon, but I guess those are certainly good reasons to keep it in my name...

I have a SFH property here in Pittsburgh, PA that will be finished with work and ready for rent in the next few weeks, and I'm wondering about the water bill. First off, I also own a duplex which doesn't have the water split between units, so it is in MY name as the landlord and I pay the water/sewage bill each month for both units, while the tenants each pay for their own gas/electric - this seems pretty standard around here. However, with the new single family rental, my initial thought was that the incoming tenant would pay for ALL utilities. While I've seen plenty of similar rentals with ALL utilities paid by the tenant, I also see a few that keep the water in the landlord's name (tenant is NOT responsible, barring excessive usage).

So I'm wondering what the reason for this is, whereas the electric and gas always seem to be paid by the tenant. Are there benefits to keeping the water in my name? Or should I let the tenant pay for it, along with gas/electric? That is how I'd prefer to do things, but there has to be a reason that so many rentals have water bills kept in the landlord's name.

Any and all input would be much appreciated!