The appraisal addendum fight that ate my whole weekend

I got my offer accepted on a townhouse in Phoenix back in March, and the home appraisal came back $8,000 under the sale price. My lender said I needed to submit a formal appraisal addendum with comps to contest it, so I spent three straight days digging through county records and MLS data. I found six comparable units within half a mile that sold for more than my asking price in the past 90 days. My realtor even had a local appraiser buddy review my work and say it looked solid. I submitted it on a Thursday and the lender's appraisal team took seven business days to respond. They basically ignored all my comps and just said "no change" with zero explanation. Has anyone else had their appraisal appeal just get brushed off like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.charles16d ago

Three weekends ago I had almost the exact same situation on a duplex in Mesa. My appraiser ignored four comps that were basically identical and within two blocks, all sold within sixty days for more than my contract price. I got the same two word response, "no change." I called my lender and asked for a supervisor and they admitted the review team often doesn't even look at the comps unless they're from the same appraiser. It feels like a total waste of time but actually I think it's just a game they play to see if you'll give up. You might try requesting a different appraiser through your lender if you can swing it, because some are way more open than others.

wade55815d ago

Actually review teams do have to review all submitted comps per Fannie Mae guidelines.