How to Handle a Low Appraisal on the House You Want to Purchase

Getting a low appraisal on the home you want toon the recommendation of the list price. It's not
buy can affect your plans to buy a house andalways an intentional thing so calling the attention
upset your budget significantly. Say for exampleof the seller to it may actually be helpful for them.
you've looked at Wrightsville Beach homes forEspecially if the house has been waiting to get
sale and decided to make an offer on a piece ofsold for several months already.
Wrightsville Beach real estate that costs $300,000.3. Ask the seller to carry a second loan to cover
You have $60,000 downpayment which meansthe difference - Not all lenders will approve of this
you intend to borrow $240,000 from the lender.so you have to check with them first. In this
If the appraisal comes back with a report valuingsituation, the seller can offer to lend you the
the house only at $250,000, the bank will just lendmoney to pay for the difference, which you will
you $190,000, which leaves a difference ofpay in lump sum after closing.
$50,000. That's a hefty amount of money.4. Pay for the difference in cash - If you have
How do you deal with a low appraisal? Here are acash lying around to pay for the difference and
few suggestions:you really, really want the house you are looking
1. Ask for the lender to appraise the house againto buy, then it may be the best solution to just
- Since the people who appraise the value of thepay for the difference in cash. At least you'll be
house are not infallible, you can ask the lender todealing with lower interest payments because the
have the house reappraised (of course you'll needprincipal is not as high as you initially projected.
to pay for it again) especially if you're confident5. Consider other lenders - If you really want to
that you should have gotten a better appraisal.stick with the house you picked and you are not
It's important to understand though that there arehappy with the appraisal, you can choose to go
many things that could affect the appraised valuewith other lenders, although this will take up a lot
of a house and professionals can usually what youof your time and make the house sit longer in
can't about it.escrow. You'll risk having the seller issue a notice
2. Ask the seller to lower the price - Sometimesof action because you can't logically expect them
when the appraisal comes in as significantly low, itto take the house off the market too long just
could mean that the house may be overpriced.so they can wait for you to get a lender who
Sometimes a house is overpriced because therewould make a favorable appraisal.
are a lot of people making an offer on it. ItWhen you get a low appraisal, it's not the end of
wouldn't hurt to ask the seller to lower the pricethe world. Worst case scenario, you wait a while
because of the appraisal you got. Sometimes afor the value of the house to increase or you
house is overpriced because there was an errorlook for a different house to buy.