Real Real Estate Stories No. 2
Being a Realtor in today's market is not as easy as it once was. Now more than ever we wear multiple hats. Sometimes we wear our concierge cap and other times we are juggling our various hats as psychologists, confidants, babysitters, detectives/investigators, managers, resource specialists, HR Directors and service providers. We do this not only for our clients but for their significant others as well.
Buying and selling a home is one of the most stressful times in a person's life not to mention, all the while, managing their family, their day to day life, busy careers and unexpected events. Realtors do understand and embrace this. We understand the frustration and expect the tears.
Today's REAL ~ REAL ESTATE STORY stems from a recent experience to which I find myself knee deep in. Today, the buyer's agent and I pulled our detective hats off the shelf. Today we had to figure out ~ why the home we have in contract did not appraise for the selling price despite the fact recent comps would have suggested. Without dragging you through the entire last two days of this drama, the point is, the appraiser did not do their homework. He did not make calls to learn about pending sales, but more importantly we discovered that the appraiser had INACCURATELY measured the subject property. This is simply unacceptable, not to mention devastating to both the buyers and the sellers. Today we, the agents, not the appraiser whose job this was, but the buyer's agent and I, did a little detective work and uncovered the problem ~ we solved the crime. It is apparent that the appraiser did not take into account NOR QUESTION 1. the public records, 2. his measurements and 3. the square footage on the website ~ which clearly displayed a detailed floor plan ~ were all 3 different.
The question arises, WHY didn't the appraiser notice the RED FLAG waiving in wind and wonder, WHY? Why were there 3 various recordings of the homes square footage? Somehow he came up short without asking WHY and looking into it further. It was clearly evident that the home had been upgraded and space added since the 1900's. Wouldn't that be a tell tale sign in itself that the home may, perhaps, have a varied square footage since the remodel? And, yes, I know you are asking ~ the many improvements were done with permits. Needless to say, this reduction in square footage as measured by the appraiser negatively affected the outcome and the home's appraised value. The worst of it ~ the appraiser never came back to re-measure.
Had it not been for the buyer's agent and I spending a few days calling upon our colleagues for assistance, making multiple calls and looking deeper into the situation, we would not have discovered this awful and careless mistake. In the end I was able to produce a recent appraisal of a comparable pending sale that helped boost our price, however, still short of the sale price. We believe, had the appraiser re-measured the home coupled with the recent sale and the appraisal we provided, the subject property would have appraised.
(Note ~ I was only able to obtain this appraisal because of my relationship with this agent. More often than not others just don't have the time or desire to help one another out.) (Next Real Real Estate Story ~ the IMPORTANCE of Fostering Good Relationships with other Realtors, Colleagues and Service Providers.)
Needless to say we, the agents provided the appraiser with our findings and a recent appraisal which is not typically an easy request to come by. Also interesting but provided no assistance, was that we had 2 Back-Up Offers, one at the same price and one even higher. Certainly there is quite a demand for homes in this price range as well as the quality of home. But in the end, it really doesn't matter as appraisers only look at Closed Sales. ( Pending sales ~ perhaps.) The question still remains, why didn't the appraiser take the time to investigate, come back and re-measure and gather the information we, the agents, were able to?
We are not just Realtors, we do not just sell homes ~ We are managers and investigators and we do not rest until we are satisfied with results that best meet the needs of each of our clients and of course, are accurate. We leave no stone unturned, we work until we have done all that we can. I agree not all Realtors work like this or care as we do, but I certainly hope when it comes time for you to buy or sell, your next Realtor will be like the agent who is representing the buyer or myself. We are team players, not opponents, we are facilitators and we are professionals ~ and we work together for a common and equitable outcome ~ and we strive to make our clients transaction as smooth as humanly possible.
The most important thing to remember from today's experience ~ as a Realtor or a client ~ is to make sure someone is overseeing the ENTIRE REAL ESTATE PROCESS; including each service provider, inspector, appraiser and lender. (As a client, make sure your Realtor is there each step of the way.)
During times like these and the crisis of this current market, one cannot simply leave things to chance. Yes, in recent years prices were completely out of balance and appraisers were appraising beyond the true value of each home and lenders were lending to and on anything, but today is quite different and we must adjust.
We work harder to obtain an offer and have our offer accepted and work even harder to keep the home in contract and the sales price intact.
On another note ~ it is a great market ~ if you can afford to buy ~ you should be buying! If you have any questions or your own REAL ~ REAL ESTATE STORY, I'd enjoy hearing about it.
~ Debbi DiMaggio, Realtor ~ Partner ~ Volunteer ~ Friend ~
Next Post ~ Managing and overseeing your termite inspector / inspection and the Importance of Real Estate Relationships.
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