All Forum Posts by: Kathryn Bowden

Good to know about Quicken - wish I knew earlier.  :-\  And yes, good info from our realtor would have helped.  One - [I was interrupted on a call on this one, and accidentally posted.  I literally can't remember what I was saying in that sentence!]

@Matt K., hmm, interesting.  Yes, they also gave the impression that maybe the loan officer wasn't so swift.  There is now apparently a new one handling their loan.  :-(

Just to reiterate, my realtor said she spoke with the buyer's realtor, and was told specifically that the buyer didn't want to pay for the appraisal until repairs were done, and therefore none was ordered.

Also, is there such a thing then as an expedited appraisal?  I'm not understanding why it is still sounding like it will take them a long time to close.

@Russell Brazil, the lender is Quicken, for whatever it's worth.  That was specifically what I was told by my realtor - but more to the point, the bottom line was the buyers decided to hold up the appraisal because they wanted to know the repairs were done, this is what their realtor has come to find out just now.  I chalk this up mostly to a realtor(s) dropped ball because I assume the buyers are inexperienced (they're young).The bottom line is both realtors just figured this out.  I would still love to get feedback on how I should (or should not) handle this.

I really need suggestions, as I have never dealt with something like this before.  Appraisals in our county generally take over a month once scheduled.  Therefore, most escrow times here are set for about 60 days.  We are under contract for the house we are selling.  All repairs, etc., were done and signed off on and closing date is 12/15th.  We've been sitting waiting for weeks for the appraisal.  Come to find out on Monday that none was ever ordered by the buyer's side.  There was some confusion by the buyers on ordering it, which I clearly chalk up to a major realtor dropped-ball.  Their realtor left it to buyers to order, and they didn't understand the importance of getting it ordered immediately.  I asked for an expedited appraisal, which they are apparently "working towards".  But still hinting that the closing date would have to be in January.

This causes a hardship for us.  First, it's well over $100 for every month in holding costs.  Second, we needed that income to be in 2017 and were counting on it.  Granted, we knew something could happen to push it into 2018 possibly, but we didn't expect a realtor flub-up.  We also have unpaid bills racking up interest charges.

I am getting the idea that we just need to lump it.  I also have zero experience with an expedited appraisal, and surely this means that should be very soon???  Is it fair for us to pay the entire downside for this with just an "oops".  What do people do in a situation like this to make it right.  I don't expect it to be a lot, I just feel there should be an effort made by the realtors.  For example, we haven't yet done a bug treatment for $250 that we were holding off on until the appraiser had come and gone.  Would it be a lot to ask for them to kick in half now for that item?  Am I just overreacting due to our own financial pressures?  We worked hard and in good faith to do everything expected of us on our side.  Feedback and insight would be greatly appreciated.  We don't want to kill the deal, but feel like we're getting the short end of the stick.

@Cara Lonsdale, thanks so much for your response.  That is super helpful.  I would love to take these proactive steps.  I have already put a two page document in the house with every upgrade - which is pretty much everything inside and out, broken down into sections of the house.  I am hoping the appraiser will pick this up, and tried to put it somewhere obvious.  So you're telling me that I can leave a specific note to the appraiser?  I wasn't sure whether that was "allowed" or frowned on, or ...  Do they actually not usually have the contract price, so they know what they are working towards??  I would love to leave a note explaining the multiple offers as well.

@Jon Holdman and @Brian Pulaski, thanks for the great information.  So seems like the upshot is, I probably have to just take my lumps.  It's not the end of the world, but a good learning experience.

Oh, and one other thing, is there a rule of thumb on a formula for % of price per sq ft, as the square footage gets less, or more - again, all things being equal.  How do appraisers adjust for this?

We are waiting for an appraisal on a house we have for sale and under contract.  I am afraid the appraisal might come in below our contract price.  This is because it's already happened with a previous buyer.  That contract ended up falling through for reasons completely unrelated to the house, so we never tackled the appraisal that had just come in.  This is a 600 sq ft house, and there just aren't comps that small.  I feel like we are getting the short end of the stick because of it.  This is the second buyer willing to pay this price.  And the house started off with multiple offers in the beginning.  I don't know how much our sq footage price should increase (all things being equal), if it's half the size of the next biggest comp, for example (not to mention better finish-out).  How can or should my realtor approach this if the appraisal again comes in low.  I'd like to feel better prepared, as I'm beginning to get angry in advance.  Thanks for any ideas or insight on this.  Btw, this time I did put out a comprehensive remodel/upgrades sheet.