Jacobus "Jack" Vollenberg

Hi Damselfly,

It appears you already answered yourself here. You're saying you can't lower the price. The appraisal is coming in conservatively which really is the only way to price it in a declining market from the bank's point of view. The story is that the longer you wait to sell, the lower you may have to go in order to actually close.

My advice is to have the buyer appeal the appraisal report armed with as many and as recent comparable unit sales prices in your building as possible. The bank usually has a procedure in place for that. The appraiser may readjust or they may not. If they don't, you will have to decide if selling it now for a lower price with a sure buyer is worth 10k versus riding the entire listing and showing process again.

Ordering a new appraisal from a different appraiser can actually harm you as they may also come in lower than your current one. Good luck and let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Jacobus "Jack" Vollenberg
RE Appraiser/RE Sales Associate
Vollenberg Appraisers/ERA Statewide Realty
Vollenberg@iname.com - Fri Nov 21 2008, 08:39

Hi Elm,

A lot of answers but not to the specific question you posed. The appraisal is indeed an opinion of what the market value of a home is at the time of inspection. You can perform appraisals for a different point in time as well, but that is not germane to your question here. The cost of a home is the monetary value (dollars) it would take to (re)build it. That specifically excludes the underlying land as that is considered to be immovable. This is why your home insurance is always for a lesser value than the appraised market value.

The Cost Approach that is sometimes used in an appraisal report attempts to recreate the cost of rebuilding the home (with similar materials and appropiately adjusted for age depreciation) and then adds the estimated value of the associated land.

Now keep in mind that the appraisal report is an opinion of value that does differ somewhat between appraisers. However, the development of that opinion is an involved but systematic process that clearly shows the underlying arguments put forward to come at that value. When done correctly and consistently, there usually are few surprises at closing when the borrower attempts to get a mortgage loan for the purchase. Remember, appraisers merely report the market. Unlike realtors, they cannot make the market.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Jacobus "Jack" Vollenberg
RE Appraiser/RE Sales Associate
Vollenberg Appraisers/ERA Statewide Realty
Vollenberg@iname.com - Fri Nov 21 2008, 08:27

Hi Debbie,

That is correct. Property is currently still as active on the MLS as listing # 2579794 as a two-family with a list price of $330,000 coming from an original list price of $380,000. 2008 taxes are listed as $10,285.17 and the property last sold on 04/25/2005 for $579,000.

Feel free to call me on my cell (570) 204-9125 with any further questions or to gain access for a showing of the property.

Sincerely,

Jacobus "Jack" Vollenberg
RE Appraiser/RE Sales Associate
Vollenberg Appraisers/ERA Statewide Realty
Vollenberg@iname.com - Thu Nov 20 2008, 13:53

Hi Lauren,

The answer you're looking for is on the right-hand top side of the listing page. Use the link below to get there as well.

Sincerely,

Jacobus "Jack" Vollenberg
RE Appraiser/RE Sales Associate
Vollenberg Appraisers/ERA Statewide Realty
Vollenberg@iname.com - Thu Nov 20 2008, 13:04

Hi Melinda,

Annual taxes are reported for 2008 as $14,734.95 and $207.00 for the two parcels.
The website for Pohatcong municipal school is the following: http://www.warrennet.org/pohatcong
Your best bet to confirm what middle and high school are connected to this elementary school is a quick call to the administration office listed on the website. Hope this helps and feel free to give me a call if you need any further assistance with your home search.

Sincerely,

Jacobus "Jack" Vollenberg
RE Appraiser/RE Sales Associate
Vollenberg Appraisers/ERA Statewide Realty
Vollenberg@iname.com - Fri Nov 14 2008, 02:22