Charlotte View

As March closed, it brought some new and unexpected changes to out marketplace.  Certainly we are seeing more listings this quarter than buyers, a real change from just 18 months ago.  When buyers buy however, we are experiencing some unwelcome and uncommon news.  In my 5 plus years of listing and selling real estate, only once did a property under contract not appraise and even then it missed it by a thin hair.   That is approximately 200 transactions.

In the past 6 weeks, I have had two separate buyer clients using large national mortgage lenders to hold up the transaction because the home purchased did not appraise.  Remember, the lender hires the independent appraisers from their appraisal pool.  Because the appraiser is privy via a copy of the contract, they know how much the buyer is borrowing, and what they have contracted to pay for the property.  It appears suddenly that the more a buyer borrows in percentage (100% loan, 95% loan, etc.) the more we as agents can worry about the property appraising.  What truly concerns me is that in the case of one appraisal, the appraiser used two story homes to compare to the ranch style subject home when more area ranches were available.  The same appraiser also used a 2 story home on the same street as the subject home which had yet to close, which is unheard of.  Despite protests, the lender refused to request a review or reappraisal.   Do I see this as a sign of more hurdles to come?  Will let you know as Spring sales close…..