I recently appraised a custom home, and when the order came through the property looked overpriced. I thought, “Yep, I’m going to look like the bad guy when this one appraises too ‘low'”. However, after doing all my research AND asking all the right questions to the listing agent, this property was clearly worth slightly more than the contract price. Ultimately I left the transaction feeling a bit curious why the agent did not offer more information about the property until I asked. At the end of the day her insight was actually vital since I found out there was a back-up cash offer above asking, one other full-priced conventional offer, and another listing coming on the market priced at a similar level – not to mention the feedback on the layout, landscaping, and location. The agent spent so much time, effort, and money to market this listing, but when it came to communicating with the appraiser, her approach was hands-off.
A “cheat sheet” to communicate with appraisers: What if you had a document on your desktop to simply address some of the questions appraisers tend to ask? You could quickly fill it out, and then email it or give it to the appraiser in person. Check out the document below, and you can download in WORD or a PDF.
This document addresses how the market responded to the subject property, and it also gives an opportunity for the listing agent to share any insight about the neighborhood, school district boundaries, market trends, important reasons buyers might be looking in the neighborhood (that the appraiser may or may not know), or insider knowledge about the subject property or street. Remember, this is potential market data, so it can be important for the appraised value. Also, you can look like even more of a rock star to your client when your client sees how intentional you are with the appraiser.
Some quick tips:
- Save this document to your desktop and use it for each listing.
- Tell the truth in everything you write.
- Feel free to skip, delete, or add any categories.
- Take 10 to 15 minutes to answer questions.
- You don’t need to write a novel, but it’s okay if the document ends up being more than one page (try to keep it less than two though).
- Remember, this information is about sharing facts instead of pressure to “hit the number”. This is exactly why it’s okay to share this type of information.
- Try to avoid subtle pressure statements like, “Please get value as high as possible”, or “We really need this one to work out”, because that comes across as trying to steer the value.
- Be specific about upgrades. For instance, instead of saying, “The house was remodeled throughout,” unpack what that means and when any remodeling was done (if you know).
- If you don’t feel comfortable providing sales or listings to the appraiser, that’s okay. However, if you do provide sales, make sure they are actually competitive to the subject property. If you know the sales well, you can always write out any differences at the top of the MLS sheets. I recommend saying “here is data I used to price the property” instead of “here are your comps”. If the appraiser doesn’t want to take any sales from you, maybe the appraiser would still take this information sheet.
DOWNLOAD the WORD DOCUMENT or DOWNLOAD a PDF.
Here is a video where I walk through some tips for communicating with appraisers before, during and after the appraisal.
Is there anything you’d tweak about this document? Speak up or offer constructive feedback below. If there is enough response, I can post a second round of an improved document in a few weeks. I’m all for better communication, and I would LOVE to get more information like this on a regular basis.
Questions: Do you think this document would be useful? Anything you’d add or take away?
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