Home Appraisal accuracy
New Appraisal Guidelines Ensure Honest Appraisals
Lost in the Crowd?
When buying a home, you will likely become acquainted with a whole slew of real estate professionals. From the realtor who helps you select a home to the listing agent who shows you some promising inventory, the experience can be difficult (and extremely frustrating) when any of these pivotal characters fail to meet your expectations. Understanding new appraisal guidelines make it easier to feel secure with a vital member of your homebuying team — the appraiser.
Help for the Weary
The folks over at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing their best to ensure that no one plays fast and loose with the appraisal process. To that end, they’ve created a new code that holds appraisers to a higher standard of quality and professionalism. Sounds great, right? Well, it has already gotten serious backlash from people in the real estate business who believe stricter rules can only hurt an already struggling housing market.
As a result, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have tried to clarify what the new code means for homebuyers like you. One major change outlined in the clarification document is the need for mortgage lenders to accept appraisals only from professionals with experience in the region in question. Think about it: wouldn’t you want the appraisal coming from someone who knows the area your future home is in?
While communication between buyer and real estate agent is permitted throughout the process (after all, Realtors can be an excellent source of information), the agent cannot have a hand in selecting the appraiser. The concern here is that a Realtor eager to close a deal will select an appraiser with whom they enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship, one where the appraiser is willing to provide the estimate necessary for the transaction to be completed as quickly as possible. Similar arrangements can often exist between appraisers and lenders, who have been known on occasion to lean on appraisers to overstate property values. While that may help a seller sell his house fast, it certainly won’t help when the buyer faces this dilemma: “I wanted to buy my house fast, but it didn’t meet appraisal. Now what do I do?”
Appraisal Delay or Consumer Protection?
Basically, Fannie’s and Freddie’s goal in creating a new code is to protect the homebuyer and restore purity to the appraisal process. Whatever delay these new measures may cause will be more than made up for by the increased confidence buyers will have in the accuracy and integrity of the professionals they turn to for an estimate.
About the Author
Brad Chandler is with Express Realty Services of Reston, Virginia and is ready to help you buy a home fast! Call 1-888-306-9450 or Contact Us Now and get started today!
(c) 2010 Brad Chandler.
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