because the appraiser is out in the market and appraising every day, including similar price range properties in the area,
the rather uncommon situation the OP finds themselves in begs the question. In or out of the market, similar price range or not, a small simple repair is what? Prolly within the margin of error of actual sales. After all, identical houses do not sell for identical prices. So what can we attribute the $2,000 or the $10,000 difference that may be present? In reality once the range is within 1 standard deviation, all answers are equally correct. Only you own judgment pinpoints a single value.
Cost to cure was what the lender asked for. Pulling a number out of your heinie and calling it "market reaction" is less reliable, less precise, and less accurate all three.
Your repair estimate is $2000, but turns out there is a plumbing problem or code violation problem that needs addressing, and actual cost turns out to be $6000.
not my problem. How often will that happen. So find me 3 or more paired sales where the bathroom needs exactly the same repairs. And the buyer has the option to send a contractor to look at it and estimate the cost. The question is why doesn't the seller fix it? Perhaps because they don't have the money. Perhaps they are selling the house for the same reason. Is is under-priced due to needed repairs or the owner needs to get out before the bank forecloses?
Accurate is not the same as supported and credible.
a cost to cure is supported and it is credible. Pulling a number from the air is credible? Pretending, due to a few bucks difference in sale price, that two house sales are a proxy for the repair?
I believe that I've read your posts in the past where you thought that interviewing local agents was a legitimate tool
It is a legitimate tool for asking what gives. Like the call back I am waiting for now. I called an agent about a very low sale once. He said, "It's got a major problem." They built an addition over the septic tank and now the septic needs replaced....cost estimate is $50,000 for a new septic and to pump grout into the old system. You can smell it from the addition. " Oh boy... something like that does require a discount due to the unknown quality of it. But a simply bathroom repair as described by the OP? It's not going to open up a major can of worms most likely.
A few years ago there was a discussion about the "polling" of agents and others. It revolved around how many are you going to ask. If the poll is not scientific or reasonably close, it has no real basis for making an adjustment. Cost to cure is a quantitative analysis. Polling is a qualitative analysis. Quoting from my old copy of The Appraisal of Real Estate.
Personal interviews can reveal the opinions of knowledgeable individuals participating in the subject's market. This information is ...secondary data. It should not be used as the sole criterion for estimating adjustments or reconciling value ranges if an alternative method that relies on primary data can be applied.
Cost is primary data. You have a better way than guessing.
