I'm buying a house and the bank I'm getting my mortgage from only did a
drive by appraisal, should I insist they do a full appraisal? What if I
find out when I go to refinance down the road that the house did not
appraise anywhere near the value I bought it for?

"Dwayne Hoover" writes:

I'm buying a house and the bank I'm getting my mortgage from only did a
drive by appraisal, should I insist they do a full appraisal? What if I
find out when I go to refinance down the road that the house did not
appraise anywhere near the value I bought it for?

If you'd like that assurance, and are willing to pay extra in closing
cost for it, then by all means yes.

But as far as the bank's concerned, they're satisfied that the house
is worth at least what they've lent you on it based on a drive by. If
you need assurance the house is worth what you're paying, a realtor
can work up a competitive market analysis of recently sold properties
in the area, or you can pay for a full appraisal.

If the appraisal you do, however doesn't pan out as you like, you may
not have any legal means to get out of the contract since your
financing has gone through based on the drive by.



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

In article .com,
Dwayne Hoover wrote:

I'm buying a house and the bank I'm getting my mortgage from only did a
drive by appraisal, should I insist they do a full appraisal? What if I
find out when I go to refinance down the road that the house did not
appraise anywhere near the value I bought it for?


What if the full appraisal comes in less than the drive by appraisal?
This appraisal is for the bank anyway. If they're happy, don't worry
about it. If *you* want to know what your house is worth then get your
own appraisal. It's a little late for that now, though, since you are
already buying the thing.


Dimitri

D. Gerasimatos wrote:
In article .com,
Dwayne Hoover wrote:

I'm buying a house and the bank I'm getting my mortgage from only did a
drive by appraisal, should I insist they do a full appraisal? What if I
find out when I go to refinance down the road that the house did not
appraise anywhere near the value I bought it for?


What if the full appraisal comes in less than the drive by appraisal?
This appraisal is for the bank anyway. If they're happy, don't worry
about it. If *you* want to know what your house is worth then get your
own appraisal. It's a little late for that now, though, since you are
already buying the thing.


Dimitri


I would have known what the house I was buying was worth before I even
got this far. The appraisal isn't rocket science. The key factor is
what similar properties have sold for recently in the same
neighborhood. Before making an offer I would have found that out.
The easiest way is if you are working with a real estate agent to ask
them to pull up comps for you. They should be able to give you 5-10
similar properties in the area.

"Dwayne Hoover" wrote:

I'm buying a house and the bank I'm getting my mortgage from only did a
drive by appraisal, should I insist they do a full appraisal? What if I
find out when I go to refinance down the road that the house did not
appraise anywhere near the value I bought it for?

The only thing an appraisal is used for is to get you the mortgage. It has no
bearing on what your house is worth two days later. Should you decide to
refinance at some point in the future, the mortgage company will either waive
the appraisal or order a new one. They will not reuse the current appraisal.

On 4 Aug 2006 08:07:04 -0700, someone wrote:

....should I insist they do a full appraisal?

How you gonna do that?

The BANK is the appraiser's client, and if that is all the bank wants
in order to make this loan, how do you "insist" otherwise? The
appraisal is for the banks' protection, not yours.

If you want your own full appraisal, go and get one.


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