VA Appraisal 60k below offer price

[Terrel L. Shields]

We were up against 7 offers, at least one of them was cash and higher than our offer, waived appraisal contingency, waived inspection.

i don't care if there is one fool or 40...it's still above market period and it will end. You are buying the payment not the property. If interest rates were 5%+ then your payment would be more- so plan on never refinancing or moving.

 

[Zoe]

I know you like the house. I would find one I like more at market value. The appraisal will get you out of contract most likely. They will not be able to sell house through a VA mortgage for a while because the appraisal sticks with it for a while. Next one you find, ask for closing costs paid by seller also.

 

[RSW]

To the OP. Is the property a basement ranch, split foyer, or a tri-level home? Were the comps used by the appraiser one of the three styles? Were the sales given to the appraiser one of the three or were they two story homes or ranch homes on one level? If your property is one of the three, then the comps should be one of the three.

 

[glenn walker]

Unfortunate but VA is not a great product for Rural or Complex properties and especially in this market so good luck. In my area most sellers will no longer even accept VA offers because of appraisal issues - BUT good luck

 

[JTip]

60k off a 250k home or 60k off a 1.2M home?

 

[Jayjay25]

The only reason the seller went with us was due to him also being a veteran. We were up against 7 offers, at least one of them was cash and higher than our offer, waived appraisal contingency, waived inspection.

It does feel like madness and I’m a first time home buyer and therefore confused as to what the real “value” is. Essentially what we’ve been learning in our search is that in our market we have to be willing to quell a large appraisal gap with cash, if there’s any hope of getting a property. But of course that’s a tough pill to swallow (never mind potentially not financially wise).

Everyone wants to bid high as long as it’s with someone else’s money. If you feel that it may not be financially wise to use your own money then you probably shouldn’t be buying the house. Sounds like your instincts are leading you in the right direction.

 

[glenn walker]

Sometimes you the bug and sometimes your the windshield unfortunate in my area its looking like the sellers are the windshield and the bugs are the buyers. Hey Jim Bob-you are not buying real estate your buying a payment and unless you plan on living there a very long time , because we dont know where the top is but we know we are are closer to a top than a bottom : )

 

[Ariba]

Unfortunate but VA is not a great product for Rural or Complex properties and especially in this market so good luck. In my area most sellers will no longer even accept VA offers because of appraisal issues - BUT good luck

Right on.

 

[Stantheman]

Thanks for your service!

That’s fair, and kind of what our agent suspects as well.

We did notice something that may just be an unfortunate characteristic of the house, but since half of the total sq footage is a finished basement, it looks like we took a big hit when that was priced. Because of how the house is situated it looks and feels more like a first floor of normal living space, not a basement, but was priced very low compared to the main floor of the house.

Below grade $/SF is typically way lower.

One more thing I was confused about is the appraiser was not local to the area, I believe he came from about 2 hours away. Not sure if that’s normal for a VA appraiser or not.

VA appraisers are typically geographically competent, appraisers work in specific territories. We at one point worked in 3 counties now we only do 1.

In our experience, VA protects the veterans.

 

[KYLECODY]

Unfortunate but VA is not a great product for Rural or Complex properties and especially in this market so good luck. In my area most sellers will no longer even accept VA offers because of appraisal issues - BUT good luck

Is it really an appraisal issue? Or a list price issue? Every time its a VA appraisal low I hear how its always the VA ones. I hear the same nonsense when its an FHA deal...Guess they don't have a more convenient target when its CONV. Just that darn appraiser.