Sell House

Boston.com / Real estate Buying Renting Recent sales Place an ad Luxury Living Community data Financing Commercial Moving Guides How to solve appraisal problems By Inman news MORE Having an appraisal done on your home is essential, whether or not you plan on selling. Loan calculators NEWS LINK NEWS LINK RESOURCES For Sale: Homes | Condos | Open Houses For Rent: Apartments | Houses | Roommates Vacation rentals Place an ad: On Boston.com | In the Globe Commercial: Search listings for sale or rent An appraisal is a dispassionate, third-party estimate of the value of a piece of property. It can either give you peace of mind by affirming your offering price or it can put the kibosh on a transaction entirely. As part of your loan application, you will pay for your lender (typically $200 to $400) to order an appraisal to estimate the current market value of the home you want to buy. You may also opt to hire an appraiser yourself before you make an offer to help you determine the price you bid on a house. Lenders require appraisals before they will approve and fund a loan in order to ensure that the home is worth the amount of money you are asking for. While most appraisals match up with what buyers want to borrow, some do not, which can send a lender backing out of your loan commitment. Understanding how real estate appraisals and appraisers work can help you deal with the consequences. Why do appraisals go awry? Most appraisal problems boil down to two things: incomplete information on the property or incompetence of the appraiser. Incomplete information often comes with the appraisal territory. All appraisals must conform to guidelines set by the Federal Reserve, but ultimately every appraisal is a subjective analysis of a property's current market value. To arrive at that number on your house, an appraiser will compare your house with that of three comparable homes in the area that have sold within the past six months and adjust for differences in the properties. They will photograph, measure and inspect the home (do NOT consider this your home inspection, however) to help them make their comparisons. But true market value can be difficult to ascertain in markets where prices are volatile and properties widely vary. Incompetence in the field can cause appraisal problems, too. Not all real estate appraisers are created equal in terms of licensing and education. While federal licensing requirements for everyone are being phased in, only about half the states currently require appraisers to be licensed, though most states do require appraisers to pass a written examination and have 75 hours of continuing education and 2,000 hours of direct experience. Inexperience can be a big culprit in a problem appraisal, so can downright incompetence. Boosting the appraisal A lender probably will reject your loan application if the appraisal of the property comes back lower than the asking price. But you can fight a low-ball appraisal. Here's how: Get a copy of the appraisers report. You can successfully argue to raise the estimated value if you show that the report overlooks a valuable feature of the home or failed to consider the recent sale of comparable property for a higher price. Take your case to your loan representative. The lender can override the estimate or order a new report from a different appraiser. Try to renegotiate with the seller. The seller may be willing to accept less than you originally agreed to pay in order to avoid the time and cost required to cancel the sale and put the house back on the market. Increase your down payment. The lender may be willing to overlook a low appraisal if you put more money down. Find a good appraiser Ask your lender for the names of appraisers they know, trust and have on their list of approved appraisers. You also can check with one of several national appraisal organizations for names of local appraisers who are members in good standing. Look for an appraiser who can do your appraisal in a timely manner and who has experience in the area you want to buy. This can help speed things along, and assure you of an accurate appraisal. TIP: If you do choose an appraiser from your lender's list to check out a house, and you end up making an offer, you may not have to pay again for the required loan-application appraisal. Quick Take If you have any question about the value of the house you are bidding on, add an appraisal contingency to your purchase offer. This provision stipulates that the property must appraise for at least the purchase price you're offering. If the appraisal comes in lower, you can back out of the deal or renegotiate price. feedback | help | site map | advertising | globe archives | rss © 2006 The New York Times Company Real Estate Guide - Massachusetts Home Builder - New Home Construction

Rental Property

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Selling Home

Selling Your Home Due to the ever-changing nature of the web, this page is updated often. Be sure to visit again soon to see what's Choosing a Realtor to Sell Your Home Can a real estate agent really help me in buying and selling property? The answer is YES! Answers the most commonly asked questions about selecting the right Realtor to help you sell your home. Setting Your List Price Setting the list price for your home involves evaluating various market conditions and financial factors. Learn the methods professional REALTORS use to help determine a home's list price. What is Market Value? The meaning of "market value" confuses many people. Noted real estate investor and author J.P. Vaughan’s clear and informative article does a good job of defining this often misinterpreted term and the many factors that ultimately determine a homes sale price. Common Q&A About Selling Your Home What are home sellers obligated to disclose? What is the best time to sell a house? Who determines what furnishings of a house stay with the home when it is sold? These are just a sampling of the many questions answered in this resource presented by Inman News Features. A Pre-Inspection Guide For the Home Seller A normal part of the home sale process involves the inspection of a home by an inspection professional. Such inspections are routinely performed on homes of all ages and quality. Here is the information every home seller needs to know about home inspectors and their services. Please report broken links to the webmaster ! Thank you! Web Design & Hosting By: Advanced Access 2000

Home Loan Program VA

Information on the VA Home Loan Program Information on the Home Loan Program Am I Eligible for a VA Loan? Property Management Construction and Valuation Lenders & Servicers Contact VA Loan Guaranty Service Forms Loan Guaranty HomePage VBA HomePage VA Homepage If You Owe VA VA Monitoring Unit Loan Production Specially Adapted Housing Information on the VA Home Loan Program VA Pamphlet 26-4 VA-Guaranteed Home Loans for Veterans. This pamphlet is designed to help veterans planning to purchase or construct homes, particularly those veterans who intend to finance with VA home loans VA Pamphlet 26-91-1 A Quick Guide for Homebuyers & Real Estate Professionals VA Pamphlet 26-6 To the Homebuying Veteran - A guide for veterans planning to buy or build homes with a VA loan Start here for brief information about VA Home Loans. Pamphlet 26-71-01 Questions and Answers on Manufactured Home Loans for Veterans . The questions and answers included in this pamphlet are intended to cover major items of interest to veterans interested in buying a manufactured (mobile) home. VA Pamphlet 26-93-1 VA Direct Home Loans for Native American Veterans Living on Trust Lands . VA direct home loans are available to eligible Native American veterans who wish to purchase or construct a ho me on trust lands. Home Buying Links Useful links to help you with your homebuying experience . Fact Sheet Information on VA Home Loans Information on the Home Loan Program / Am I Eligible for a VA Loan? / Property Management Construction and Valuation / Lenders & Servicers / Contact VA Loan Guaranty Service / Forms Loan Guaranty HomePage / If you owe VA / Monitoring Unit / Loan Production / SAH Disclaimer / Privacy & Security Statement / Freedom of Information Act Contact the VA / VBA HomePage / VA HomePage This page has been accessed since February 16, 2003. Reviewed/Updated: May 19, 2005 [kt]

Property Listing

HUD Homes Housing About Housing Contact us Keywords Single Family Audience groups Buying a home Events & training FHA insured loans Common questions Housing counseling HUD homes/ REO Owning a home Reference guide Regulatory programs Hospitals Multifamily OAHP Reading room Online forums Work online HUD news Homes Communities Working with HUD Resources Tools Webcasts Mailing lists Contact us Help HUD Homes Listings Information by State Esta página en español Print version Email this to a friend Related Information HUD's Buying A Home page More information on HUD homes HUD approved lenders Lead hazards Fair housing Settlement costs Listings from other agencies HUD sells properties at reduced prices that you might want to buy! Read how you can buy a HUD home. Then, check out the listings of HUD homes by clicking on a state in the list below. If you think you want to buy a HUD home, contact a real estate broker in your area who is authorized to sell HUD homes (most are). The broker must submit the bid for you. Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Northern Southern Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana N. Mariana Is Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Confused about buying a home? Consult a HUD-approved housing counseling agency . They will be able to help you sort through your options. If you are a real estate broker, the following information is for you: Intro to Selling HUD Homes Real estate brokers selling HUD Homes Management and Marketing contractor list Content updated June 13, 2005 Back to top FOIA Privacy Web Policies and Important Links Home U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street S.W., Washington, DC 20410 Telephone: (202) 708-1112 TTY: (202) 708-1455 Find the address of a HUD office near you