Why It’s Smart to Be Nice to Appraisers As I’ve written previously (“Appraisers vs. Realtors vs. Trulia“), Realtors active in an area will often field calls from appraisers trying to establish the value of similar, nearby homes. Whether the bank they’re working for is considering a new mortgage or refinancing an existing one, the questions...Read More
The Utility of “Negative” Information If the 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath 1945 Colonial three blocks away from you just sold for $650,000, that’s probably a good starting point for pricing your 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath 1945 Colonial. But what if the neighbor’s Colonial was on the market for six months at $650,000, and didn’t sell — perhaps even after dropping in price to $624,900, and...Read More
Comparing Apples and Oranges: Case Study #17 I’ve posted previously about how a slow market — combined with a relatively unique property — can bedevil Realtors and appraisers alike trying to estimate a home’s value. That’s because to be valid, a comparative market analysis must include three sales of similar properties no further back than...Read More
Lack of Information & Objectivity Not all Home Sellers misprice — or would if their Realtor didn’t convince them not to — but enough do that it begs the question: why? From my perspective, it’s usually a combination of three factors (none of which involve vanity or ego). One. Lack of information (about the Comp’s,...Read More
The Real Purpose of Showing Feedback For the uninitiated, every time a Buyer’s Agent takes a client through a property, they subsequently receive an online feedback form debriefing them on how it went. Once upon a time — like two years ago — they all basically asked the same thing(s): ‘tell us whether your client...Read More
“East is East and West is West” From experience, here are two good rules of real estate negotiation: Rule #1. Never argue the “comp’s” with the other side. A comp, or comparable sold property, is a similar, nearby home that has sold recently. To determine fair market value, Realtors and appraisers alike typically look for...Read More
