K
kellarw
Guest
MASS 
WE Made an offer, which was immediately accepted by the seller, on a single family home in Massachusetts. We then negotiated after the inspection report and arrived at an agreed $576,000. (The original list was $599,000). We (my fiance and I ) felt rushed from the beginning of the process, yet we yielded entirely to our buyer broker's advise.
With 2 weeks to go until closing, I began an analysis of over 20 homes for sale in the community that our house is in, comparing current assessed value (by the city tax assessor's office) to the list price of a given home. The ratio was 72.6%...When I got the ratio for our house, it was 66%. In other words,
based on this analysis, the "fair" list price was about $545,000, not $599,000.
We currently await the lender's appraisal of the house we are buying. Because we are financing 50%, at first the lender was going to just perform a "drive by" assessment. But because we wish to know the lender's appraisal of the entire house, in and out, we are awaiting the full appraisal now.
Several RE people have said that $576,000 is way to high for this house, esp. since we must put in a minimum of about $80,000 to bring electric to code, redo the delapadated roof, and fix up what was a neglected house.
Our buyer's broker discourged us from seeking $545,000 early on, she discouraged us from asking the seller to either replace the roof or compensate us at closing for a new roof, and seems highly uncomfortable that we, the buyers, wish to see a boea fide appraisal.
Yes, (gulp) we did sign the P&S agreement...my fault. However, if the lender's appraisal comes in below the contract price, do we have a case? We do want the house, but at a fair price. We feel our broker did not live up to her stated duties, including fiduciary duty to the buyers (us). Is there an issue of law here that may help us arrive at a lower price this far in the process?
Thank you for your advise and consideration,
Sincerely,
KB & BM
WE Made an offer, which was immediately accepted by the seller, on a single family home in Massachusetts. We then negotiated after the inspection report and arrived at an agreed $576,000. (The original list was $599,000). We (my fiance and I ) felt rushed from the beginning of the process, yet we yielded entirely to our buyer broker's advise.With 2 weeks to go until closing, I began an analysis of over 20 homes for sale in the community that our house is in, comparing current assessed value (by the city tax assessor's office) to the list price of a given home. The ratio was 72.6%...When I got the ratio for our house, it was 66%. In other words,
based on this analysis, the "fair" list price was about $545,000, not $599,000.
We currently await the lender's appraisal of the house we are buying. Because we are financing 50%, at first the lender was going to just perform a "drive by" assessment. But because we wish to know the lender's appraisal of the entire house, in and out, we are awaiting the full appraisal now.
Several RE people have said that $576,000 is way to high for this house, esp. since we must put in a minimum of about $80,000 to bring electric to code, redo the delapadated roof, and fix up what was a neglected house.
Our buyer's broker discourged us from seeking $545,000 early on, she discouraged us from asking the seller to either replace the roof or compensate us at closing for a new roof, and seems highly uncomfortable that we, the buyers, wish to see a boea fide appraisal.
Yes, (gulp) we did sign the P&S agreement...my fault. However, if the lender's appraisal comes in below the contract price, do we have a case? We do want the house, but at a fair price. We feel our broker did not live up to her stated duties, including fiduciary duty to the buyers (us). Is there an issue of law here that may help us arrive at a lower price this far in the process?
Thank you for your advise and consideration,
Sincerely,
KB & BM
