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Property
Appraisals for Home Buyers
The asking price is a little more than you want to spend, but it seems
you found that dream home you always wanted. You have already been pre
qualified for a mortgage and this home is within your budget. It
appears just right, close to schools, convenient to your place of
business or job. The wife is all excited and pressuring you "let's buy
it!!".
Before you sign on the dotted line, ask the owner or your agent if
there is a recent property appraisal you may look over. Failing that,
ask that they supply you with a comparable market analysis from the
past six months. You should do this to get an idea of what similar
homes in the neighborhood are selling for. Remember, just because your
lender has qualified you for a certain amount of money, that does not
mean that the property you are considering is worth the asking price.
At this point you may well consider hiring an independent property
appraiser for an impartial appraisal. However, in most states property
appraisals can only be ordered by the home owner or lender involved in
a transaction.
In that case, if you can not get a straight answer from your agent and
they can not produce either a recent appraisal or a current market
analysis, you may want to make an offer subject to the property
appraisal report meeting or exceeding your offering price. If the
seller accepts the offer and your contingency is met, you can be
assured that you are purchasing your dream home at or below current
market value.
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