Dear Michael: My property is in escrow and did not appraise for it sale value. Is there anything I can do to have the appraiser change his mind?
Answer: It is very difficult to change the appraised value after an appraiser has turned in his or her report. There are a few things you and your agent can do to better prepare before the appraiser comes over.
Prepare a list of all upgrades you have completed on your home. These are a valuable part of the appraised value and will help increase the price. The appraiser only has limited time at your home and may not be able to notice all of the details.
Have a list of all comparable homes in your area which have sold in the past three to six months. Some appraisers come from out of the area may not have any knowledge of the area. Some appraisers will welcome the fact that you are helping them while some others are more resentful. I suggest you give them these lists as soon as they enter your home.
The “appraisal contingency” is one of the most important and challenging parts of the sale of your home. If your home is in escrow above asking and your intuition tells you that it may not appraise, then I suggest you look your options over with your Realtor and be prepared to negotiate.
Dear Michael: My home was in escrow for only three days when the buyer decided to cancel for no apparent reason. The agent said that her children talked her out of it. Is the buyer allowed to cancel a purchase for a reason other than stated in the purchase agreement?
Answer: No purchase is firm until the buyer has removed all his/her contingencies. Buyers have 17 days (this can be extended in writing and must be agreed by the seller) to remove all contingencies unless otherwise specified in the purchase agreement.
The buyer’s investigation of the property’s condition and approval of all reports is the contingency that allowed this particular buyer to cancel the purchase of your home, for whatever reasons the buyer sees fit…even if this did not make any sense to you.
Good news! We are in a “bullish” real estate market and you should have no problem finding another buyer.
Dear Michael: We want to change the way we hold title to our house so our niece who lives in Europe can one day inherit our home. She is separated from her husband. Would that be a problem?
Answer: You might want to rethink that plan. There’s no reason to change the title over to your niece, particularly since she doesn’t live in this country. If your goal is to make sure she receives the property after your death, the easiest thing to do would be to set up a living trust, put the title to the property into the trust and name her as the sole beneficiary.
That way, you’re leaving her an inheritance (which she receives at the current market value of the date of your death and not as a gift on which she or you may owe gift taxes). This also helps if she is getting separated from her spouse.
You wouldn’t want to give a gift that could possibly be construed as being part of the marital estate. Please consult an attorney for further evaluation.
Michael Kayem is a Realtor with Re/max Estate Properties serving Culver City and the Westside since 2001. You can contact him with your questions at (310) 390-3337 or email them to him at: homes@agentmichael.com