[dexter]

This is something related to my current fears of foreclosure on my home.

Is anyone a realtor or does anyone know...

If you have a realtor evaluate your home for resale, is it likely that the value they give you is fairly accurate? Might it be grossly inflated (to encourage you to list with them?)

The agent seemed to have done a lot of homework (i.e. didn't just pull the number out of the air) and was prepared to list my house right then and their for the amount she quoted (explaining it was a bit high to allow for negotiating room). I'm hoping that she wouldn't encourage me to list it at such a high price if she knew the true value was nowhere near that.

Then again, she knows the circumstance I was in (she did her homework on that too) and maybe figured she could encourage me to list with her by quoting high, figuring I'd accept something much lower to escape a bad mark on my credit from a foreclosure... I did have a "gut feeling" of trustworthiness, unless that was wishful thinking.

I hope to have a bank appraisal soon but in the meantime I am loosing sleep over this. The amount is fairly critical to my future.

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--http://www.idexter.com

[Peanut61]

She won't get a commission if the house is foreclosed upon, so I would think she would be motivated to list it at a reasonable price that she thinks she can get.

<font color=blue>HI FROM PEANUT</font color=blue>

[mj14]

dex, I agree with Peanut. Realtors want a sale more than anything, so they do not want to list a house at too high a price. I have known a couple of people who had a realtor try to make them list at a lower price. So I wouldn't think that she would be giving you a higher price.

The price might seem high because real estate values around here have just skyrocketed lately. I know when I see how much houses in my neighborhood list for, I'm stunned.

mj

<font color=green> If she spins fast enough then maybe the broken pieces of her heart will stay together, but even a gyroscope can't spin forever</font color=green>

[SeptemberMorn]

Something for you to think about. It's not something you need to respond to me on... unless you want to.

I think you're doing the right thing by having the bank appraise your property. When I don't listen to my gutt, I'm always sorry. Use a smidgeon of your analytical powers and see how it checks out with your gutt. Talk to her again, look in her eyes while she's talking and see what you feel then. Watch out for any red flags that might come up and listen to them, too. Check them out.

How much experience does she have in your particular kind of sale?

Jill's right. Getting her commission would have a bearing on whether she can get the price she quotes or not. I'm always one that likes "a little room to play" when a price is quoted. You know the offers are going to come in lower than the asking price.

The best of blessings for you on this one, Dave!!




<font color=blue>"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt" --Shakespeare</font color=blue>

[Rapunzel]

Dexter,

Realtors generally know more than the value of a house than appraisers do, actually. It's really all based on "comps" which is the selling prices of other similar properties in the area, and realtors are very familiar with that. The realtor often send the comps to the appraiser to establish the price they have set.

That said, realtors will set the price as high as they think the property is worth or could sell for, with the understanding that buyers will often make a lower offer and want to negotiate. So, you could get what the realtor tells you the house is worth, and you can hold out for that, but you can also negotiate down as far as you are willing to go. All the offers go to you to accept or decline. Unless there is something seriously wrong with the property, you'll probably get offers that are reasonably close to your asking price.

Realtors probably won't set the price unreasonably high, because if you can't get an appraisal for the price you and the buyer agree on, the sale could fall through, and they don't want that.

<font color=orange>"If a light beckons to you, follow it. If it leads you into the quagmire, you'll probably find your way out of it again; but if you don't follow it, you'll be plagued for the rest of your life by the thought that perhaps it was your star." Friedrich Hebbet</font color=orange>

[dexter]

Thanks for your input... it makes me feel better. I should clarify... I am hoping not to sell the house.

The bank appraiser value is where my future hinges. I realize the appraisal won't necessarily be the same as the realtor, but I am hoping it will be close. If the bank appraiser comes up with a figure close to what the realtor said, I might possibly have a way out of this. If the Realtor was way off, way too high, then its lost. If the realtor was accurate but the appraiser doesn't agree I am also screwed. I've read that about 50% of the time the appraisal value is less than the resale value. Having some confidence that the resale value is what was quoted gives me a little more hope to get by on until the bank appraisal is finished.

Here's my other area of doubt... so OK, property values have "skyrocketed" recently... but what does "skyrocket" mean. Is it at all possible that the value of my house has nearly doubled in six years? That's what really took me back. Tonight I was looking over the stuff the realtor left me regarding other houses in the area that she researched. They do look like she gave me the correct range. It is hard to say for sure because all of the houses are different styles here... mine is the only split-level in the area. But based on number of rooms and features, looks pretty good to me.

ihopeihopeihopeihopeihopeihopeihope

Remember when you were young and used to put a large button on a loop of string, looping the string through two holes... then you'd stretch the string out between your two hands over your fingers, sort of spin it to "wind it up" and then by pulling the twisted string taught and then loosening it, the button would spin in one direction, then the other, back and forth??? Sort of like a sideways yoyolike thing? The internal system consisting of my esophogus, stomach, and large intestine is doing a very fine recreation of that toy inside my body this weekend. I didn't even realize that the stomach was free to spin around inside my gut, but it seems that is so.

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--http://www.idexter.com

[SS8282]

Just a thought - has anyone in your area sold their place in the past year? If so, maybe you can find out how much it was sold for.

[Peanut61]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

The bank appraiser value is where my future hinges.

<hr></blockquote>

Is the bank appraising the property the same bank that holds the mortgage/deed of trust on it?

WARNING: Be careful if you are dealing with big bad bank!

Are they offering to take a deed in lieu? What specifically is trying to be accomplished.

... 'value' is important at the time of foreclosure re: what the 1st/2nd must bid.

I'm almost certain that the bank appraisal will come in lower, but NOT necessarily because that is the true resale value.

Is the bank offerrng to refinance?

In the southwest, I know, property values have, in fact, doubled. Depends on the market.

<font color=blue>HI FROM PEANUT</font color=blue>
<div class="foot">(Edited by Peanut61 on 08/28/04 11:59 PM.)</div>
<div class="foot">(Edited by Peanut61 on 08/29/04 00:01 AM.)</div>

[Peanut61]

Really, ((Dave))... If you have some kind of income stream, and you have value in your house, you should definately consider filing a chapter 13 and restructure the debt thru. the bankruptcy court.

DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be a legal opinion and you should consult your own attorney regarding the specifics of your situation.

<font color=blue>HI FROM PEANUT</font color=blue>
<div class="foot">(Edited by Peanut61 on 08/29/04 00:04 AM.)</div>

[dexter]

Right now I have no income stream and I've discussed Chap 13 and also the other appropriate... chap 11 or chap 7 I forgot which. Neither is really suitable for me.

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--http://www.idexter.com

[dexter]

>>Is the bank appraising the property the same bank that holds the mortgage/deed of trust on it?

No. This is a third party bank offering to refinance, through a mortgage broker (that I trust) working for me. Totally independant of the foreclosing bank. Part of my anxiety is if this is going to work, the refinance has to be approved and come through before the current bank kicks me out.

The bank appraisal doesn't have to match the resale value, there is a little bit of wiggle room. If the resale value was inflated, then it would be a close shave, and I would have to worry extremely that the bank appraisal would come close to the actual resale value.

Don' t really feel comfortable saying too much more about this on the internet... think I said too much already.

I appreciate the input. The more I've been hearing, here and in other research I've done, the more I feel comfortable that the numbers are in line and that this could possibly work, and I'm not spinning my wheels with false hope.

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--http://www.idexter.com
<div class="foot">(Edited by dexter on 08/29/04 02:52 AM.)</div>

[dexter]

The realtor left me with specs of other houses recently sold. No houses match mine, they are all different styles, but she found good matches with regard to size and number of rooms and features. She did seem to have done her homework, assuming she wasn't just totally BSing me... which more and more I feel is not the case.

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--http://www.idexter.com