• Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
New posts

Mango

SoWal Insider
Apr 7, 2006
9,709
1,360
New York/ Santa Rosa Beach
Looks like we'll get some answers today at 1:45.

"Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's success in crafting agreement on a five-year fix of subprime mortgage rates owes a debt to an unlikely source: congressional Democrats.

Legislation pushed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank that would bypass lenders and investors, giving power to judges to rewrite loans, helped persuade banks and securities-industry lobbyists to sign on to Paulson's effort, mortgage-industry analysts said."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aAsVymCNU7go&refer=us

This could give new meaning to "here come the judge!"

What about the prudent folks who financed at a 15 or 30 year fixed? Their properties have still declined in value and if they bought in 2004-6 cannot sell without writing a check- in some cases a big check! Their property taxes and insurance rates have increased raising their payments but they will receive no cherries from the gov't.

I suppose that wouldn't be any different than appearing before a Bankruptcy judge. My husband and I were just discussing the same exact issue about the folks who were prudent enough to lock at fixed rates but who now are paying the piper due to this whole subprime/easy money debacle that aided the run up in values.
 
Last edited:

Beaudroix

Beach Lover
Apr 15, 2007
57
1
Miramar Beach
Here is a new idea!!!

What if the Multiple Listing Service reinvented itself for the future and required all existing and new listings to provide an appraisal at the time the property is listed and also provide an appraisal every twelve months. This would make alot of people think twice about calling their realtors and listing an overpriced property just to see if somebody would pay for it. Listing a house with a realtor does not cost the seller any money but if they had to possibly spend $500-$1,000 they might think twice. Or the realtors could start charging $75.00 an hour plus advertising and they could afford to reduce the percentage at the closing table.

these things would defintely make sellers be serious about selling instead of fishing for some uneducated price buyers...

by they way - i am not a realtor but i am in sales:cool:
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
Interesting idea, beaudroix. I like the second option better, but collectively talking about the amount Realtors should charge for services could violate some Federal laws. Requiring an appraisal sounds too much like more gov't red tape to advance the appraisal industry. If that happened, you would see Realtors running to get their appraiser's license. Currently, with so few sales in the area, it is difficult to find real comps which closed in the last four months. I recently had an appraiser contact me for info on a property which I sold over two years ago, saying it was the closest thing to a comp. That was a totally different market than it is today.

Charging for hourly work up front might be a good thing, but that would quickly be negotiated and we would always have Realtors who were trying to compete and gain listings, who will take the listing at any price, just to get the listing, so we would still have many over-priced listings.
 

Philip_Atlanta

Beach Lover
Mar 1, 2005
140
1
www.rosemaryrental.com
Interesting idea, beaudroix. I like the second option better, but collectively talking about the amount Realtors should charge for services could violate some Federal laws. Requiring an appraisal sounds too much like more gov't red tape to advance the appraisal industry. If that happened, you would see Realtors running to get their appraiser's license. Currently, with so few sales in the area, it is difficult to find real comps which closed in the last four months. I recently had an appraiser contact me for info on a property which I sold over two years ago, saying it was the closest thing to a comp. That was a totally different market than it is today.

Charging for hourly work up front might be a good thing, but that would quickly be negotiated and we would always have Realtors who were trying to compete and gain listings, who will take the listing at any price, just to get the listing, so we would still have many over-priced listings.

Here in Atlanta there are plenty of realtors who get an appraisal as part of marketing the house once they get the listing. It makes for more effective marketing. The problem is appraisals are somewhat subjective in a steady market. I'd hate to be an appraiser in sowal trying to find good comps.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
Here in Atlanta there are plenty of realtors who get an appraisal as part of marketing the house once they get the listing. It makes for more effective marketing. The problem is appraisals are somewhat subjective in a steady market. I'd hate to be an appraiser in sowal trying to find good comps.
I'm not so sure that I agree about the appraisal being a good marketing tool. Perhaps in a steady market, yes, but in a declining market, my answer would be no. What an appraisal can do, is help get the seller realistic in his or her asking price. Since the appraisals are subjective, I'm sure that if you get a seller to agree to sell their property at appraised value, a buyer take you on, and will bring in an appraiser to suit his or her needs. ;-) I'm not saying it is right, but this is the real world about which we are talking.
 

Mango

SoWal Insider
Apr 7, 2006
9,709
1,360
New York/ Santa Rosa Beach
What an appraisal can do, is help get the seller realistic in his or her asking price.

Isn't that 3/4's of the battle though right now? Smart sellers should get an appraisal from an appraiser who is approved with multiple Lenders. This will insure the most unbiased opinion. Also, in a declining market, it's very easy for an appraiser 4-6 months later to offer a new value. They would just have to come in the house and make sure nothing was removed or account for improvements possibly made. Usually they would charge less for a repeat visit.
 

Beaudroix

Beach Lover
Apr 15, 2007
57
1
Miramar Beach
I'm not so sure that I agree about the appraisal being a good marketing tool. Perhaps in a steady market, yes, but in a declining market, my answer would be no. What an appraisal can do, is help get the seller realistic in his or her asking price. Since the appraisals are subjective, I'm sure that if you get a seller to agree to sell their property at appraised value, a buyer take you on, and will bring in an appraiser to suit his or her needs. ;-) I'm not saying it is right, but this is the real world about which we are talking.

Appraisers should not be able to FUDGE the $$$ amounts one way or the other. They should have a logical calculated way to appraise the house therefore Appraiser A, B & C should estimate within 1% of the same $$$ amount.:bang:

I am not saying that any of the appraisers on here do that but would you agree that three appraisers will give you three VERY different amounts...
 
Last edited:

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
beaudroix, I do agree that three appraisers will give you three different values on the same property. However, asking three appraisers to get within 1% on value, is stretching it in today's market. In a market with many sales, it might be more likely, as finding good comps will give a good basis for determining value. In a slow market like we have today, the comps are not there, so appraisers will have to go back in time to a different market, or stretch out to other neighborhoods to try and find a comp. Also, right now, you might have a comp lot sell at $80K, right next to a lot which sold 6 months ago for $110K. That person who bought the lot in 2001 for $20K, can afford to sell it at $80K to make the quick sale. You might also have an auctioned lot sell for $65K, just down the street. Let's also throw in a similar lot which sold one year ago for $165K. Getting three appraisers to come up with values varying by less than 1% would be a challenge. They want to show an accurate value, but with comps all over the board, and wanting to show the highest accurate value, they will have a tough job.

The appraised value is determined by the comps, and different appraisers are likely to use different comps, and therefore establish different values.

Mango, you are correct that getting the seller's realistic in their asking prices is 3/4 of the battle right now. However, a good Realtor doesn't have to get a $500 appraisal to determine value. Realtors can perform CMAs to determine value. The problem is two-fold. 1) Some Realtors are scared of losing the potential listing, so they might try to find more value that is actually there. 2) Sellers don't listen to the professional opinion of Realtors. They just keep dialing until they hear a price they like.
 
Last edited:
New posts


Sign Up for SoWal Newsletter