Next month I'm going to do a refi. I have just remodeled a room into a
kitchen extension (small eating area where there was none to begin
with) and a closed-in bedroom. I think this has added value to my
place.

I'd like some advice about how to present this if at all to a bank.

Should I show them my receipts for the work done or just before and
after pictures. Should I get the place appraised and just go in with
that or does that even matter because they'll just lend based of value
of surrounding homes anyway??

Any advice about refi under this instance is appreciated.

Thank you,
--PhB.

writes:
Next month I'm going to do a refi. I have just remodeled a room into a
kitchen extension (small eating area where there was none to begin
with) and a closed-in bedroom. I think this has added value to my
place.

I'd like some advice about how to present this if at all to a bank.

Should I show them my receipts for the work done or just before and
after pictures. Should I get the place appraised and just go in with
that or does that even matter because they'll just lend based of value
of surrounding homes anyway??

Any advice about refi under this instance is appreciated.

In many instances, they'll want their own appraisal unless they have
one to re-use that's less than 6 months old. If you're willing to pay
for a full appraisal (where an appraiser enters your home and looks
around) vs a driveby (which looks mostly at comps and verifies your
house is still standing) in order to get the maximum valuation, they'd
likely be happy to consider it.

If you'd like to stack the deck in your favor have a few area realtors
through your home and tell them you may be selling and would like an
assessment of what they think the home would sell for. That way you
at least have something to dicker with to get the appraisal you seek
during refi. But that comes with the big caveat that appraisal
guidelines and what realtors will tell you to woo your listing are
quite different. In the eyes of an appraiser it's not clear whether
the remodeling you've done will change an appraised value or not.

When you apply for the refi, you will be asked what you think the home
is worth as a way to determine the LTV on the refi'd amount. The
appraisal will look to validate that number. Telling the bank you've
done remodelling, etc often isn't appropriate to that discourse. All
they care about is if the estimate property value is in the ballpark
and appraises out because banks are only interested in knowing that
there are no surprises in the amount of risk they're assuming by
lending to a person.

--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

In article .com,
wrote:

Next month I'm going to do a refi. I have just remodeled a room into a
kitchen extension (small eating area where there was none to begin
with) and a closed-in bedroom. I think this has added value to my
place.

I'd like some advice about how to present this if at all to a bank.

You present it to the bank in a format called an "appraisal".
You can hire your own appraiser, but the bank will likely
want to use one from their own list. But in general, unless
you have finished off unfinished square footage, the fit and
finish isn't going to matter much. The appraisal usually
compares similar houses, or uses a formula based on so much
per square foot of finished space.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

On 07 Jun 2006 16:57:47 -0500, someone wrote:


....have a few area realtors
through your home and tell them you may be selling and would like an
assessment of what they think the home would sell for....

But that would be dishonest and a fraud. He is NOT selling. You
think this is OK just because they are realtors? (I.m NOT, BTW.)


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

On 7 Jun 2006 14:35:58 -0700, someone wrote:


Should I show them my receipts for the work done or just before and
after pictures.

Neither. What would the receipts show about current VALUE, they just
show COST. Not the same thing at all.

What good is a "before" picture, they are not lending on the former
house, they are lending on the present house, and their appraiser
doesn't been YOUR pictures, he takes his own (if needed). The typical
refi (or loan on sale) appraisal uses zero or maybe one inside pic,
and if one is needed the appraiser takes it.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

In article , v says...

On 07 Jun 2006 16:57:47 -0500, someone wrote:


....have a few area realtors
through your home and tell them you may be selling and would like an
assessment of what they think the home would sell for....

But that would be dishonest and a fraud. He is NOT selling. You
think this is OK just because they are realtors? (I.m NOT, BTW.)



There *are* a lot of realtors in my area who will provide an assessment although
you're not planning to put the house on the market, in hopes that it would get
folks thinking about it. They'll

Of course I agree that whatever the situation, it's dishonest to represent
yourself as actually planning to sell.

Banty


--

In article , v wrote:

....have a few area realtors
through your home and tell them you may be selling and would like an
assessment of what they think the home would sell for....

But that would be dishonest and a fraud. He is NOT selling. You
think this is OK just because they are realtors? (I.m NOT, BTW.)


I think it's dishonest in principle, but I doubt many realtors would mind.
You are giving them a chance to make their pitch. Even if one is not
selling immediately, maybe one finds a realtor he likes that he uses when
he sells, that he recommends to friends, or uses to buy/sell a vacation
house, etc. I am not a realtor, but I know that if I was I wouldn't turn
down a chance to make a presentation. Only a small % of sales pitches are
successful, anyway.


Dimitri

In article , D. Gerasimatos says...

In article , v wrote:

....have a few area realtors
through your home and tell them you may be selling and would like an
assessment of what they think the home would sell for....

But that would be dishonest and a fraud. He is NOT selling. You
think this is OK just because they are realtors? (I.m NOT, BTW.)


I think it's dishonest in principle, but I doubt many realtors would mind.

In which case, you don't have to lie. I had an assessment recently, I did not
lie.

You are giving them a chance to make their pitch. Even if one is not
selling immediately, maybe one finds a realtor he likes that he uses when
he sells, that he recommends to friends, or uses to buy/sell a vacation
house, etc. I am not a realtor, but I know that if I was I wouldn't turn
down a chance to make a presentation. Only a small % of sales pitches are
successful, anyway.


Which are all the good reasons why realtors may in some cases happily assess a
house although there is no immediate prospect for sale. None of these, however,
are reasons to misrepresent oneself.

Remember whatcha momma taughtcha. Don't lie.

Banty


--

In article ,
Banty wrote:

I think it's dishonest in principle, but I doubt many realtors would mind.

In which case, you don't have to lie. I had an assessment recently, I did not
lie.


Fair enough. You can just say you're not interested in selling and can
probably still get realtors to come out.


Which are all the good reasons why realtors may in some cases happily assess a
house although there is no immediate prospect for sale. None of these, however,
are reasons to misrepresent oneself.


I didn't mean to condone the guy's behavior. I just didn't want anyone to
feel bad for the realtors, since it's possible they can get work even from
a guy who isn't intending to sell immediately.


Dimitri