How do I Know If I Am Overpaying For The House?

Ardell wrote a post just for me about How do I Know If I am Overpaying For the House? on her Seattle Area Real Estate Blog. A couple days ago I had [picked up on her post over at Rain City Guide that Not All Square Footage is Created Equal but had drawn a conclusion from her post that was not intended. In our discussion over comments she said she would write a post to show me how to get an accurate appraisal.

So when DOES the appraiser have to be MOST ACCURATE? Again, common sense, whenever the lender’s risk is the highest. And when is the lender’s risk the highest? When you have no money down and the closing costs are included in the sale price.

So if you apply for your loan with zero down and the closing costs as part of the loan, the appraiser has to be really, really sure of his value when doing the appraisal. That is because if the lender had to foreclose, the lender would need to sell the property at more than the price you are paying, to get his money back. The appraiser protects the LENDER, not the BUYER.

Read her entire article for full details.

Thanks! Ardell