Why are you banging the poor appraisers? They are not the ones to be blamed at least not the only ones.

Homes are the places where you sit your ass down for a long time IMO. I am sick and tire of people whining about real estate crises after buying properties they cannot really afford.
If you put your bets down you should know they could be taken away.

A common denominator for this problem is greed, all consumers and people in business as well as Wall St. People. Also if people thought there will be harsh consequences for misrepresentation to acquire loan such as gang rape in state pen. for prolonged time, people wouldn't have done stupid things like that.

I enjoyed your post BLine and QS.

Values are constantly changing. I can't just look at a house and tell you what it is worth. Research has to be done to determine that. I mean, I can throw estimates out and be somewhat close, but without analyzing each property and it's very specific market, there is no way to tell. It is very hard for anyone to really know the value of a market unless they spend time studying it, which potential buyers should do.

Once again, you have to remember that the consumers set the market and the appraisers report the data.

The sales comparison approach is given the most weight of the three approaches to value when determining value in a residential appraisal (uness it is a rental property or something special). Appraisers look at other recent sales of homes in the neighborhood that are judged to be similar to the subject property and compare them to the subject. Those final closed sales prices are the most important bit of information, because that is what the appriaser bases nearly their entire value estimate on. Here is the important part, whether the market is inflated or deflated has no bearing on the appraisal because that will be reflected in the sales prices of the comparables. At the end of the day, all the appraiser can do is utilize the closed sales and base his or her estimation of market value off of what the market tells them. The appriaser can't just throw out statements that he or she feels that the market is, oh say 5% inflated, therefore, 5% was deducted from the comparables homes sales price. Could you imagine if people did that. How would you determine how inflated or deflated the market was? That just can't be done. The appraiser is there to estimate the current market value of a property based on closed sales. Not analyze whether the market is inflated or not. The whole residential appraisal game is based on closed sales of comparables properties, that is it.

If it makes you feel better, I have personally killed deals where people were going to pay too much for a house and I have also appraised houses for more than they were selling for.

And the comparable properties have been artificially set high. You keep overlooking the fact that lenders and appraisers set the values. Homeowners didn't run around saying "gosh I'd love to pay 500,000 for this place" I'd love to hear any solution you have to clean up the problem. So far, nobody has offered any just criticized.

__________________

An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This is where I don't know what else to say except you are completely wrong.

Buyers and sellers set the market. Of course buyers are not running around saying gee I would love to drop half a mil, but there are these people called sellers too wagner. Oh and by the way, they want their money too.

Its been another 3 pages..so its popcorn time again...

And who appraised their property and told them how much it was worth?? A magic 8-ball?

__________________

An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I'd say so.

__________________

An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

An appraiser's job is to estimate the market value of a property. Here is the definition of market value;

The most probable price that a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably, and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus. Implicit in this definition is the consummation of sale as of a specified date and the passing of title from seller to buyer under conditions whereby;

1. Buyer and seller are typically motivated
2. Both parties are well imformed or well advised and acting in what they consider to be their best interests
3. A reasonable time is allowed for exposure on the open market
and so on.

I can come appraise your house for $2,999,999,999, but just because I say it is worth that much, doesn't mean it actually is. On the flip side I can appraise your house for $1.99. Would you be willing to sell your house for $1.99? or would the typical buyer want to pay $2,999,999,999 for your house? Don't think so. This is where the buyer and seller set the market. Market value is what a typically motivated buyer will sell his house for and what a typically motivated buyer will pay for the house. The appraiser just reports this data. That is it. You are over thinking it.

Again, agree to disagree. IMO you're making it far too simplistic. Apparently you are one of the very few honest appraisers. I've first hand witnessed appraisers up values by 10-15K because a lender asked for it. That is falsifying value.

__________________

An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.