What should or can I do about a Bad (low) appraisal on my house?

Question

OK, so I wanted to refinance my mortgage. Everything was going fine, even for having a lower credit score. The closing was set, all we were waiting for was the appraisal. Well, when it came in, it was over $30,000 less than comps near by. It seems that the appraiser decided that the Family Room, which was enclosed from a carport in the mid 1980's, should not be included as living space. "The garage was converted by sealing the opening with T-111 siding, carpet on floor, it is under central a/c, this area is calculated seperate from the living sf for comparative purposes of this appraisal, and is typical and not adverse as it may be readily converted back to car storage purposes at minimal cost." The problem with this is that it never was a garage. There was actually a block foundation attached to the concrete slab, that would not be easy to tear up! He used 936 sq. ft. as the living space, when all the other appaisals stated it was 1183 sq. ft. What do I do to fix this?? Or am I stuck?

I bought the house in 2002. That appraisal included the room as a family room. When I got a home equity loan in 2005, the room was listed as a fourth bedroom, and included as living space. So, I just don't know if I can fight this or not? Any ideas?

The mortgage company I am refinancing with is Countrywide. They currently hold my mortgage. The state I live in is Florida.

Answer 1

Country wide has ALL records pertaining to your property since the beginning. The appraisal is ONE MANS OPINION. Call for another appraisal and lets hope he gets it Right this time considering CW has all the previous appraisals.

Answer 2

I might have the answer...

Appraisal underwriting standards and guidelines change all the time. What might have been acceptable in the past may not be acceptable now. And that is based upon how loans have performed. If loans with converted carports have been hard-sells in the cases that ended in foreclosure, then Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and lenders would start looking at that space differently.

You mention the room is air conditioned, but say nothing about heat. There is a rule that if a room is not heated, then it cannot be counted in the room count. This holds true everywhere, even Florida. So if the room is unheated, your appraiser was correct to not include it in the room count. Not only is heat required, but the heat needs to be passive - that it is turns itself on and off to maintain the temperature - permanent, and vented to the outside.

Answer 3

From what I know you cannot do anything about this appraisal. The best bet is to try again with another company and tell them about this ahead of time to make sure that you do not have to pay for another appraisal that will not work. What state are you in?? If you are in a state that we deal with I could take a look at getting you the same deal as the other company and haveing a good appraisal done for you...If interested contact me...

Answer 4

1# Show the orginal appraisal that you have to the person doing the appraisal. That may help, but it sounds like this person is not willing to budge. Was the appraiser one that the Realitor knew, and ordered? Just curious!

Get an extension on your purchase contract, and sounds like you will need to order another appraisal. But before you do that, talk with your lender/broker/LO - show them the older appraisal, the Lender may go off the old value on the sq footage. Every underwriter in every company is different. Does not hurt to ask, or ask your Broker, etc to ask his appraiser what can be done, since you are so close to closing. If they get their heads together, they may thing of something. But I woul dbe prepared to pay out for another appraisal (unless the seller is willing to help with the added costs or the realitor).

Good Luck

Answer 5

Given that you have 2 other appraisals that clearly support the space as living space, I would contact the appraisal company, that you paid to complete this appraisal per the lender, and advise them of the other appraisals and I would contact the lender directly that ordered the appraisal to apprise them of the other 2 appraisals.

Lenders are very cautious right now, given the tremendous surge in foreclosures, which unfortunately is passed on to the appraisers too.

I'm sure you'll get it all resolved! Good luck to you!

Answer 6

When I bought my house in 1999 the appraisal came it low, my realtor made a call and brought in a new appraiser and the mortgage was approved.
You could get another appraisal, but you may have to have a connection to get the number you want.
Try calling the realtor that sold you the place and see if they think they can help.

Answer 7

Talk to the lender, and get another appraisal. It was wrong for the appraiser to downgrade the space on the grounds that it could be converted "back" to a garage (whether or not it ever was one).

Answer 8

I would go to a local mortgage broker. Countrywide already has your business. (Customer retention is a great idea but many companies don't put it to good use.) Plus, they have SO much business that they can afford to be overly cautious. Go to someone who will appreciate your business and get you the best deal possible.

Answer 9

You Have to go to the Assessors Office and file an appeal.
The appeal hearings are usually three times a year
depending on the size of the municipality.Do your homework. Get copies of the Assessors Cards for at least
6 or 10 properties adjacent to you.Make sure you get all this info even that you are on city water or septic. Your
proximity to the nearest firehouse even counts in the
appeal process. Make sure your name goes on for the next hearing and have all your paperwork together.
Good Luck.

Answer 10

You can try another appraiser, you could even talk to them about this issue before they come out and see what they think about it.