Las Vegas Real Estate Appraisals
One of the hottest topics in Las Vegas
is about getting a "good" appraisal for a Las Vegas
home. With the rising prices, the asking price is sometimes
quite higher than the current comparatives of homes sold or
pending. In many cases, the buyer is required to make up the
difference of the appraisal and the agreed purchase price, which
could involve thousands of dollars.
There are conflicting ideas as to who makes the final decision.
The answer is that the banks will determine the value of the
Las Vegas home even if an appraiser submits a higher amount
to keep up with the market. If an underwriter has the final
word and a buyer is relying solely on the appraisal, it may
jeopardize the purchase of the Las Vegas real estate.
It's customary that the appraisal is based on sales that have
closed; however, underwriters will accept pending sales in
their comparisons to help support the higher value range.
Since Las Vegas real estate appraisers are salaried employees,
their appraisal will most likely be based as an objective point
of view since they are not affected whether a deal closes or
not. It is not, therefore, recommended that appraisers be influenced
to push as high as possible in order to obtain the highest appraisal.
Nevada real estate appraisers are licensed and have to base
their findings on certain rules. However, all lenders and
government agencies do not necessarily have the same rules
regarding the home appraisal and, each loan may be judged
accordingly.
Getting a Las Vegas real estate appraisal is a complicated
process and is not based on the square footage of the home,
which is only one factor in the calculation process. Upgrades
are dependent upon what's common within the neighborhood. Real
estate appraisers do, however, usually welcome facts that relate
to the property with comps that represent a reason why the property
should be appraised at a higher value.
There is always the fear that we will experience what happened
in the early 1980's when the Savings & Loan crisis resulted
in inflated Las Vegas real estate appraisals. At the time,
lenders were in a position of selling homes that were not
worth what the market said they were worth.
A Las Vegas home is only worth what the typical buyer
is willing to pay to the seller based on the supply and demand.
Most home appraisers abide by the rules and consider the main
purpose is to protect the buyer, seller and lender. If an agent
wants to inform the appraiser of the neighborhood and the current
market trends occurring in the neighborhood, it should be based
on solid fact. A new building project sometimes influences residents
to believe that their property is selling at a higher price.
A comp within the subdivision is usually considered the most
accurate comparison rather than homes outside of the subdivision.
A Las Vegas real estate agent may show the appraiser
multiple offers to convince him that if the offers rise above
the asking price, the appraiser may take the offers shown on
the property in consideration.
Appraisals are based on market value that is "typical"
of what the buyer will pay, not what one borrower will pay.
For example, if 4 written offers are submitted $25,000 over
the asking price and the home sells in 24 hours, then the
appraiser can use this information to justify the higher appraisal
because it indicates the Las Vegas real estate market trends.
Most Las Vegas real estate agents know what the house
is actually worth and it does no good to try to convince the
appraiser or the homebuyer something that is not true. When
the market is attracting more buyers than sellers and buyers
are willing to bid substantially higher, then real estate agents
are obligated to inform their buyer that they should be prepared
to pay the difference.
The actual definition of an appraisal is that it's an 'opinion
of value.' There are many variances in determining the comps
of a particular Las Vegas subdivision and this may not always
be the best way to appraise the value. Likewise, there can
be differences in expert opinions as well. Therefore, it's
important for the Las Vegas real estate agent to contribute
by sharing information that will give credible facts about
a property to the appraiser in order to obtain the highest
If you are planning to purchase a home or relocate in the Las
Vegas area, contact
us for a prompt response. We invite you to visit our website
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