Imagine: You’ve found the perfect buyer for your Baltimore home and it looks like you’ll finally be able to sell your house fast in Baltimore, MD! You think the hard part is over, when all of a sudden the process comes to a screeching halt because of the appraisal.
The truth is—just because you and a buyer have signed a sale contract doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a fast home sale. Once you sign the contract, the lender that’s writing the buyer a mortgage will demand a home appraisal. The appraisal is conducted so the buyer’s lender can determine whether or not writing a mortgage for the buyer is a worthy investment. And if the appraisal goes poorly, it could cause the sale to fall apart.
The thing about home appraisals is they can go either way—the appraiser could come up with a price you agree with or they could undervalue your home. In the end, an appraisal is supposed to be objective, so when the appraiser comes up with a value, they’ll have reasons for arriving at it.
In this article, we discuss what you can do if your home is appraised for less than you want to sell it for. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s begin!
What You Can Do If Your Home Is Appraised At A Price Lower Than You Expected
You’ve probably wondered: “Can I sell my house fast in Baltimore, MD if the appraisal is low?” If so, then we’ve got good news. There are some things you can do in this scenario, including:
1. Review The Appraisal Report
Request a copy of the appraisal from the buyer or their agent and evaluate it to see if the information is accurate. If you notice any wrong information or missing items, work with the buyer or their agent to get things right.
2. Request That The Buyer Challenges The Appraisal
If you believe your home is worth more than what it was valued at, you can request that the buyer challenges it. Share relevant documentation, like a renovation receipt, to prove your case. If the lender agrees that the appraisal is wrong, they may be willing to order another appraisal.
3. Be Open To Negotiations
If the buyer wants to complete the deal as much as you do, they’ll be willing to negotiate with you. They may even be willing to pay the difference between your asking price and the appraiser’s value in cash. For example, if the home is listed at $500,000, but it was appraised at $460,000, the buyer could pay up to $40,000 to close the gap.
But you should know that this strategy really only works in a seller’s market. If it’s a buyer’s market, the buyer may just move on to another property so they don’t have to pay more than the appraiser’s value.
4. Wait And Relist The Property Later
If you’re confident the home has been valued at less than it’s worth, and the buyer isn’t willing to negotiate, the best option is to let the deal go. If you aren’t in a rush to sell, you can pull the home off the market and relist it later when the conditions are more favorable. You could wait for the market to turn from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market, for example.
But if you want to avoid the appraisal altogether, sell to cash home buyers in Baltimore, MD. At MD Cash Home Buyers, we buy houses in Baltimore, MD as is. You won’t have to make one repair before selling to us. We’ll come to your property once, conduct a brief inspection, and then come up with a fair cash offer within 24 hours.
Interested in learning more? Request a free cash offer today! Call us or visit our site.