What happens if you’re in the process of purchasing a house
and your lender’s appraiser says the house is worth less than you agreed to
pay? If you’re getting a conventional loan and included an appraisal
contingency in your offer, the contingency helps protect your interests.
In PA, the appraisal contingency is a separate addendum that
goes with your offer. The contingency
allows you to terminate the agreement of sale within the contingency period as
follows:
- For purchases with lender financing, if the appraiser hired
by your lender appraises the house for an amount lower than the agreed-upon
purchase price.
- For cash purchases, if the appraiser you hire appraises the
house for an amount lower than the agreed-upon purchase price.
The default time frame in the standard PA appraisal contingency addendum is 30 days, but the parties can negotiate a longer or shorter period.
Many buyers do include an appraisal contingency in their offer. However, there are some select cases where you might consider leaving it out. For example, if you know in advance that the seller has already received multiple offers, you may leave it out to make your offer better in the seller’s eyes. In this case, you would be indicating that you’re comfortable with the price offered and don’t intend to back out if the appraisal is low. The choice is yours—but If you forgo the appraisal contingency, you’d be giving up a useful tool for protecting your interests.
#realestate #housing #appraisals #appraisalcontingency
Copyright @ 2020 by Annette Nelson. All Rights Reserved.