Can You Negotiate The Appraised Value?

Mar 19, 2024 | Published by Leave your thoughts

The thrill of negotiating or bargaining a sales price appeals to many of us. Once, on a vacation with my family in Barbados, we spent time bargaining with local salesmen on antiques. This was, of course, a big part of the fun.

When it comes to appraisals, I’ve heard people ask if there is any room for negotiating, as in when a home sells and the seller and buyer negotiate certain terms.

The short answer is not really, but here are some options for the longer answer:

If the home buyer and seller agree on a price, can the appraiser appraise it lower or higher than the agreed to price? 

The appraisal is an independent opinion on the value of a property. Whoever hires the appraisers, whether it is an individual or a bank investigating the worth of a loan, wants to have an accurate market reflection of the home. Thus, if a seller and buyer are not affiliated with a bank loan and want to agree to a price separately, it’s considered a risky move since there is no guarantee that the price is not exaggerated or too low for the real worth of the home.

If an appraisal comes in too low, did the seller overprice the home and should a new price be set?

There are several determining factors that help establish an appraisal price. More than likely, if your appraiser comes back with a lower price, he or she has done the necessary comparable property research to determine it. You can always repair some things in the home and update certain things, like fixtures, or even get another appraisal. This may change the price, so in this case, there is a little leeway for a higher sale.

If the appraisal is low, can home sellers and home buyers renegotiate?

Yes, they can. If the appraisal is low, it would benefit the buyer much more than the seller. The seller would have to agree to a lower price on the home. If not, the parties may get another appraisal or contest the one they’ve got. If there is no agreement reached, a buyer can add money to make up the difference between appraisal and the sales price. This really only happens when there aren’t many homes available in a specific area and equally not as many buyers, or the buyer really wants that property for their own reasons and they’re willing to go the extra mile.

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This post was written by Joseph Castaneda

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