I Got Hollared At By The Realtor

[hal380]

In bullet format for brevity.

Got an assignment to do a condominium sale, 24 unit complex, nice enough unit.

Subject was purchased by owner 15 months ago for $69,000

Now under contract for $95,000, with no particular upgrades etc.

2 recent sales in complex, 1 @ 70,000, and 1 @ 82,000.

COD job, so realtor mailed me a check, (why she had the fee is mystery)

My value was $85,000.

Well dontchya know I got the expected phone call yesterday, and she told me that obviously I did not know about appreciation. That was a misteak on her part. I consider myself a decent gentle person, but damn when someone insults this irishman, stand back.

Her next problem is that I am the appraiser on the house that the seller of the condo is buying and she is the realtor. So she feels that her attack on me may harm this transaction. Nothing could be further from the truth. I will not allow myself to be influenced by her bitching me out. However I must say I enjoy her discomfort.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Wassamattawitu?

Don't cha know that whatever an agent can get on a contract IS the market value???

One more example of the daily dog & pony show of idiots that should not be able to contact and pressure the appraiser. Those on commission should be banned from having anything do with the appraisal!!!! Most especially, who the appraiser will be! :twisted:

 

[Carnivore]

Hal,

I have seen these kinds of deals myself and have been the receipent of there toungue lashing.

Have you ever wondered how they got this person to offer that much. Something stinks. Occasionally I find out that mama lives next door, or the subject has a feature that the buyer justhas to have.

What was it in your case?

 

[hal380]

Hello Andrew;

Occasionally I find out that mama lives next door, or the subject has a feature that the buyer justhas to have.

I am not sure what the dynamics of this transaction are, but here are some surmises:

The sale took place in Bridgeport Ct, and there has been a revival going on in real estate values here. With the low interest rates, first time buyers can leave the apartment and be a homeowner for the same $$'s. So prices have been rapidly increasing. The seller and realtor evidently felt they would lead the market. This same realtor brought the seller, a first time uninformed buyer. (Someone please tell me how a realtor can serve the best interests of both the buyer and seller at the same time)

There was nothing in particular about this unit that differenciated it from the other 2 that sold recently. All three are identical. I discounted the $70,000 sale because it was a distress sale and I didn't feel it was representitive of the market.

I felt I had done a good job on this appraisal. I don't consider myself a number hitter, but I did question myself as to why I was comming up with a value different from the sale price. Was there something here that I didn't see?, what did I miss? Finally I said, "Hey, this is it and that is that, I cant help it.

Like I said, I made sure the check cleared before I delivered the report.

Take care all, and remember "It's a jungle out there"

Hal

 

[Bobby Bucks]

Hal I have more fun with the screaming RE agents the second time around, usually a few months later. Rather than relive the unpleasant experience again by acknowledging there was screaming, I normally say somewhere in the conversation "What was your name again?" or the classic line for the kings and queens of real estate. "Who are you and what company are you with"? The insinuation of their insignificance in the transaction does bring them down a notch.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Sounds like you over appraised the condo! :rofl:

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Lets see. The agent thinks you are too low. The buyer thinks you are too low. The seller thinks you are too low. The underwriter thinks you are too high and wants another comp to support your value. Sounds like a typical assignment to me.

 

[Patti Jury]

It seems to me that whenever confronted by an agent.. It is ALWAYS the Agent that either NEVER shows up at the appointment or shows up Comp-less.

The Agents that show up with comps I NEVER have a problem with.

Agents that cannot support their contract price ALWAYS Scream the loudest.

Simply ask the agents what comps they used to support their selling/listing price.. They ALWAYS shut up and go away after this question is proposed since they themselves can't justify the list price!

It is amazing the peace and quiet you get from that one simple question!

 

[Austin]

This is the oldest story in the annals of appraising. Here is how it plays out: Realtor finds another appraiser, tells the new appraiser what an idiot you are, the other appraiser makes the price and the loan goes through. Three months from now you will be using the same sale as a comp to appraise another condo. Only difference, this time the price is $110,000 and you can only justify $95,000. Yada Yada Yada.
Theoretically, if you appraise according to the question asked in the definition of market value, prices would never go up. The fact that prices do go up like this just shows the weakness of the system.
I ran across an interesting sale about two years ago. Under contract at $72,000 at time of appraisal. As is my practice, I searched the sale history and here is what happened: 1987-sold 72,000; 1990-sold $78,000; 1993-sold $85,000; 1998 sold $94,000; 2001-sold $72,000. The woman that was the purchaser took one of those courses on how to get rich in real estate and bought the property because it fitted the pattern to do the same thing all over again. And, she is getting away with it. I told the bank what she was doing and you know what they said: “We know, but she is prettier than you are Austin.” I am not kidding, this story is true. Every time she buys another property, the bank uses her appraiser. Whats is the point of it all?

 

[George Hatch]

Austin,

Theoretically, if you appraise according to the question asked in the definition of market value, prices would never go up. The fact that prices do go up like this just shows the weakness of the system.

Care to expand on that comment a little?



George Hatch