Mr. Cynical

Foreclosures Getting Out of Control

Part of a solution has to involve expedited short sales. B of A is taking 60-90 days for a short sale even after they have a preliminary HUD on the table. Ridiculous. Speeding this process will allow saleable homes to move forward before the foreclosure sale.

NAR on Existing Home Sales and Low Ball Appraisals

I Disagree. I'm a Realtor, but I call em like I see em. I saw lots of ridiculous appraisals in the past few years, but they're overshooting now and killing good deals.

Here's the thing: IMO, The appraisers job is not to determine value--- that should be the buyers job! The appraisers job is to make sure the bank is not getting ripped off. If 3 comps that the appraiser never saw are within 2% or so of the purchase price, 2 things should be clear: 1. The buyer thinks the home is worth the purchase price (thereby justifying its value) and 2. The bank is not likely to be ripped off here. If the buyer is putting down 20% of the purchase price, the property should appraise because the bank is protected.