This is going to be long post, sorry in advance, but I feel it is necessary to include relevant factors in my quest for advice. The value given is only a few thousand short of what I was looking for and I can survive the difference in refinance, but I feel I am entitled to a fair appraisal and want to confirm that's what I get.
I strongly feel that the appraiser I was sent for a refinance was unfair in his appraisal, and adjusted his appraisal to what he felt the house should be worth, rather than what the market states, due to bias against either me, or more likely based on his attitude against my home, due to its original age
When the appraiser showed up to my house I attempted to show him the many many upgrades I had added to my home. He immediately stated that the home was over improved "for what it was" and that he didn't need to see anything, that it was just a formality doing the walkthrough, mostly to see if there was any significant damage to the property, and that he already knew everything he needed to know about the home value from market research. He then proceeded to tell stories about the many dilapidated homes he'd been in while he stuck his camera in each room and took a picture without ever setting foot, or even glancing in the rooms themselves. He then asked me what I thought the home was worth, I said approximately 150k based on the fact that I was incredibly familiar with the market since my brother had been shopping for a comparable house in same area for a year. He said nah houses that old are only worth about 88k and the updates can only add so much value. I was very angry when he left that I was not able to show him the many upgrades, but accepted at his word that I would get at least as much credit as i could for them.
Now the report, and the description of home. The home is a 1400 sq ft ranch with the original 24x24 square built in 1946, the rest was added on at 3 different times each about 15 years apart. From 2010 when I purchased as a foreclosure until 2015 the entire interior was remodeled. All new plumbing, all new electrical, original section of homes foundation block replaced, and 2x8 floor joists replaced with 2x10 to match rest of house and modern code (was slightly sagging previously) the ceiling joists in that area were 2x4 and I added sistered 2x6 joists to meet modern standards. The bathroom and master bedroom both have many upgrades and features that are significantly better than most comparables (hence the overimproved) too many things to list on them that set them apart. All moldings were replaced with stellar work (received many many comments on moldings by virtually every visitor, whIle never pointing them out) all door replaced, all light fixtures and much more. In summary the entirety of the interior of the home including all utilities and hvac were brand new as of 2015 when I occupied the home, the only things not replaced were several interior walls in which the plaster was repaired to like new, and the kitchen cabinets and counter, which were dated but in excellent condition and only about 10 years old.
The exterior shows signs of wear, the siding is vinyl and is approx 30 years old and typical condition, the roof is 20 years old and shows signs of discoloration and rust stianing, but no significant curling or gravel loss. The driveway is asphalt and is in very poor shape, extremely ugly cracked and wavy but still functional as there are no trip Hazards or holes.
Home was given a c4 rating for condition. And an effective age of 40 years. With specific notation of dated kitchen. Is this fair? Entire interior seems c2 to me(including kitchen isn't updated/not updated separate rating than condition?). With the driveway, roofing and siding being the only negative/typical c4 condition.
The comparables, here is the meat of everything.
The search for comparables for my 1400 sq ft home was set to encompass 900 sq ft to 1600 sq ft homes. Is this reasonable? 36% smaller to only 14% bigger does not seem to be a fair range to me, and in contrast, would a search for comparables on a 900 sq ft house include houses as large as 1400 sq ft 55% larger. If not, how can they truly be considered comparables?
5 comps were selected ranging from 996 sq ft to 1368 sq ft with prices ranging from $103/sq ft to $138/sq ft with a mean of $120.
4 of the comps (all but comp 1)support my price even though all 5 are smaller and no bracketing was done appraiser stated he put all weight into comp 1 as the others were "superior in condition/updates" with a special notation of "FORMICA COUNTERTOPS" (a quick zillow glance at pics show all 5 comps have laminate countertops and all have significantly inferior bathroom and master bedroom)one does have a basement that mine does not and the other 4 do have slightly more attractive property mostly due to driveway
Comp 1 is a 996 sq ft bungalow with less than 7 ft ceiling at the peak of upstairs (this is generally counted as GLA in this area to the full width of 2ft tall knee walls)
It has no closets at all except one on main floor that houses, furnace, hwt, and stackable laundry with no extra room. Vs my home which has 2 4 ft closets in master, 6 ft closet in second bedroom and 3 foot closet in 3rd. Plus a large 4x8 hall closet in entryway. Has comparable kitchen. Bathroom is much smaller, and far far far inferior. Every other room is significantly smaller. With the largest bedroom being the same as my smallest, and my largest over 3x the size, (not including the closets) and the dining room being 4 ft x10 ft vs my 12 ft x 12 ft. My home also has a separate laundry/utility room with 16 linear ft of cabinets that does not add to room count.
The only adjustment made to this home was a GLA adjustment of $20/sf
Am I unreasonable in demanding significant adjustments be made to this comp, there are not really any more than the 5 selected comps available, and no "true" comps due to the nature of my area.
Would not some adjustment be necessary for the bathroom, master bedroom, significant closet space, and separate laundry?
I understand that the GLA adjustment accounts for the size difference in the rooms, but with the dining room the size difference is enough to affect useful purpose and should there not be adjustment made for that?
How was the value of $20/sf reached? The market clearly shows to be GLA driven in all comps and non comps, with a consistant average of $115/sf. Wouldnt an adjusted value of $40-$50 be more reasonable?
When such a large of sq ft adjustment is made that throws the price /sq ft of the home so much from the average(would rate my home at $88/sq ft vs market avg of $115), would not more consideration be necessary as to the value/sq ft adjustment?
Should there not be an adjustment made for the non conforming GLA of the bungalow upstairs (it is consistant accepted as GLA for area)when comparing to a ranch home, and also consideration of staircase GLA when comparing to ranch home?
I believe comp 1 is simply not comparable due to the vast difference in size, but if it is indeed the best comp am I wrong in believing the vast adjustments are necessary. The bank at first brief request has denied sending another appraiser, and I would like opinions from professionals as to whether I am off base or if I do have a legitimate gripe. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I greatly appreciate all feeback.
I strongly feel that the appraiser I was sent for a refinance was unfair in his appraisal, and adjusted his appraisal to what he felt the house should be worth, rather than what the market states, due to bias against either me, or more likely based on his attitude against my home, due to its original age
When the appraiser showed up to my house I attempted to show him the many many upgrades I had added to my home. He immediately stated that the home was over improved "for what it was" and that he didn't need to see anything, that it was just a formality doing the walkthrough, mostly to see if there was any significant damage to the property, and that he already knew everything he needed to know about the home value from market research. He then proceeded to tell stories about the many dilapidated homes he'd been in while he stuck his camera in each room and took a picture without ever setting foot, or even glancing in the rooms themselves. He then asked me what I thought the home was worth, I said approximately 150k based on the fact that I was incredibly familiar with the market since my brother had been shopping for a comparable house in same area for a year. He said nah houses that old are only worth about 88k and the updates can only add so much value. I was very angry when he left that I was not able to show him the many upgrades, but accepted at his word that I would get at least as much credit as i could for them.
Now the report, and the description of home. The home is a 1400 sq ft ranch with the original 24x24 square built in 1946, the rest was added on at 3 different times each about 15 years apart. From 2010 when I purchased as a foreclosure until 2015 the entire interior was remodeled. All new plumbing, all new electrical, original section of homes foundation block replaced, and 2x8 floor joists replaced with 2x10 to match rest of house and modern code (was slightly sagging previously) the ceiling joists in that area were 2x4 and I added sistered 2x6 joists to meet modern standards. The bathroom and master bedroom both have many upgrades and features that are significantly better than most comparables (hence the overimproved) too many things to list on them that set them apart. All moldings were replaced with stellar work (received many many comments on moldings by virtually every visitor, whIle never pointing them out) all door replaced, all light fixtures and much more. In summary the entirety of the interior of the home including all utilities and hvac were brand new as of 2015 when I occupied the home, the only things not replaced were several interior walls in which the plaster was repaired to like new, and the kitchen cabinets and counter, which were dated but in excellent condition and only about 10 years old.
The exterior shows signs of wear, the siding is vinyl and is approx 30 years old and typical condition, the roof is 20 years old and shows signs of discoloration and rust stianing, but no significant curling or gravel loss. The driveway is asphalt and is in very poor shape, extremely ugly cracked and wavy but still functional as there are no trip Hazards or holes.
Home was given a c4 rating for condition. And an effective age of 40 years. With specific notation of dated kitchen. Is this fair? Entire interior seems c2 to me(including kitchen isn't updated/not updated separate rating than condition?). With the driveway, roofing and siding being the only negative/typical c4 condition.
The comparables, here is the meat of everything.
The search for comparables for my 1400 sq ft home was set to encompass 900 sq ft to 1600 sq ft homes. Is this reasonable? 36% smaller to only 14% bigger does not seem to be a fair range to me, and in contrast, would a search for comparables on a 900 sq ft house include houses as large as 1400 sq ft 55% larger. If not, how can they truly be considered comparables?
5 comps were selected ranging from 996 sq ft to 1368 sq ft with prices ranging from $103/sq ft to $138/sq ft with a mean of $120.
4 of the comps (all but comp 1)support my price even though all 5 are smaller and no bracketing was done appraiser stated he put all weight into comp 1 as the others were "superior in condition/updates" with a special notation of "FORMICA COUNTERTOPS" (a quick zillow glance at pics show all 5 comps have laminate countertops and all have significantly inferior bathroom and master bedroom)one does have a basement that mine does not and the other 4 do have slightly more attractive property mostly due to driveway
Comp 1 is a 996 sq ft bungalow with less than 7 ft ceiling at the peak of upstairs (this is generally counted as GLA in this area to the full width of 2ft tall knee walls)
It has no closets at all except one on main floor that houses, furnace, hwt, and stackable laundry with no extra room. Vs my home which has 2 4 ft closets in master, 6 ft closet in second bedroom and 3 foot closet in 3rd. Plus a large 4x8 hall closet in entryway. Has comparable kitchen. Bathroom is much smaller, and far far far inferior. Every other room is significantly smaller. With the largest bedroom being the same as my smallest, and my largest over 3x the size, (not including the closets) and the dining room being 4 ft x10 ft vs my 12 ft x 12 ft. My home also has a separate laundry/utility room with 16 linear ft of cabinets that does not add to room count.
The only adjustment made to this home was a GLA adjustment of $20/sf
Am I unreasonable in demanding significant adjustments be made to this comp, there are not really any more than the 5 selected comps available, and no "true" comps due to the nature of my area.
Would not some adjustment be necessary for the bathroom, master bedroom, significant closet space, and separate laundry?
I understand that the GLA adjustment accounts for the size difference in the rooms, but with the dining room the size difference is enough to affect useful purpose and should there not be adjustment made for that?
How was the value of $20/sf reached? The market clearly shows to be GLA driven in all comps and non comps, with a consistant average of $115/sf. Wouldnt an adjusted value of $40-$50 be more reasonable?
When such a large of sq ft adjustment is made that throws the price /sq ft of the home so much from the average(would rate my home at $88/sq ft vs market avg of $115), would not more consideration be necessary as to the value/sq ft adjustment?
Should there not be an adjustment made for the non conforming GLA of the bungalow upstairs (it is consistant accepted as GLA for area)when comparing to a ranch home, and also consideration of staircase GLA when comparing to ranch home?
I believe comp 1 is simply not comparable due to the vast difference in size, but if it is indeed the best comp am I wrong in believing the vast adjustments are necessary. The bank at first brief request has denied sending another appraiser, and I would like opinions from professionals as to whether I am off base or if I do have a legitimate gripe. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I greatly appreciate all feeback.
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