real estate value question

[jdcat]

We had our home appraised back in 2007. It appraised for 107K. We met with our attorney yesterday to go over our petition and this part of the petition we were very unsure what to put. We all discussed it and decided to go with a value of 100K which is about a 6 percent drop in value. We thought that since real estate prices peaked around 2006 and our appraisal was done shortly thereafter that our estimate and the 6 percentage drop was not unreasonable.

I did tons of research on homes in my area and think this price is very fair for the age and condition of our home (99 years old and needs work). I'm a little nervous about this though. If the trustee asks us how we came up with the value of our home will telling him/her how we came up with our number fly?

We do have money set aside for an appraisal in case the trustee asks for one.

Did any of you do the same when estimating the value of your homes?

We are a below median no asset chapter 7.

Thank you for reading.

[newbie2]

We had our home appraised back in 2007. It appraised for 107K. We met with our attorney yesterday to go over our petition and this part of the petition we were very unsure what to put. We all discussed it and decided to go with a value of 100K which is about a 6 percent drop in value. We thought that since real estate prices peaked around 2006 and our appraisal was done shortly thereafter that our estimate and the 6 percentage drop was not unreasonable.

I did tons of research on homes in my area and think this price is very fair for the age and condition of our home (99 years old and needs work). I'm a little nervous about this though. If the trustee asks us how we came up with the value of our home will telling him/her how we came up with our number fly?

We do have money set aside for an appraisal in case the trustee asks for one.

Did any of you do the same when estimating the value of your homes?

We are a below median no asset chapter 7.

Thank you for reading.

I would be hesitant to base your current value upon a 3 year old appraisal and then deducting 6%. The real estate market has been so crazy just within the last year that you may be selling yourself short.

Pick up the phone and call a couple of local real estate agents and ask for a free market analysis. Most are happy to do that for you. Then look at the current value they give you and go from there.

[StartingOver08]

An appraisal from 2007 has no relationship to today's value.

As stated, get a CMA from a local realtor. They are free. Use comparable sold properties within the last 90 days. You will then have a much more accurate and defensible value if the Trustee questions it. In our area our values are still dropping. You can not measure the market without seeing what has actually closed recently.

[justbroke]

I concur with the above assessment. My appraisal from 2008 has no bearing on my home price, just as my 2006 and 2005 appraisal are irrelevant as well. At least get a CMA for the place.

[jdcat]

Thank you for the replies everyone. I think I'm just gonna bit the bullet and have an appraisal done then. I'd rather know for sure than sit here worrying everyday.

I can't shake the feeling that an appraisal would hold more water with a trustee than a cma.

My old neighbor is an appraiser and I've thought of calling him up several times over the past few months but I so didn't want to have to explain the situation. I guess I'm just gonna have to suck it up and do it. Not looking forward to it.

[PyroGuy]

YES...spend the few bucks and have a piece of mind and get the appraisal!

With today's market, you can have 2 homes exactly the same....except one is a Bank Owned property, and the other is being sold from an individual. There can be as much as $50,000 difference between the homes....

I needed a good value (below my first mortgage) to be able to strip the 2nd and 3rd in my ch. 13 that I will be filing....I hinted to the appraiser what I needed, and "Boom", there was a value that was lower than my first mortgage. I even asked if the appraiser would be willing to go to court to back this up, and the answer was "I wouldn't have signed it otherwise"....

This is a CRAZY market right now!

[justbroke]

If the place is only $100K, you should be able to get an appraisal for under $250, and probably for like $200. Shop around!

[jdcat]

Hi pyroguy, I chickened out. I didn't call my old neighbor, lol! I just made an appointment with an appraiser I found in the phone book. It's going to cost us $250, and my hubby is going to flip his lid, but this is something that shouldn't be taken lightly and I'm just going to have to convince hubby that this *has* to be done.

He's coming by Friday and I'll have the results by Monday.

I'll post the results when I get them just to let everyone here know how far off or how close our guess was!

I'm terrified. If the house appraises for more then 107K we'll be over our exemption.

[jdcat]

Wow good guess justbroke!

[PyroGuy]

ok...now, let's everyone make a guess as to what the appraisal is going to be.

My guess....if it was worth $107,000 in 2007, it will be worth $89,000 now.

Your guesses??

[jdcat]

Ooooh that's funny pyroguy! When I first met with my attorney I told him my personal belief was that the true value was about 90k!

[Mensa1]

What type of appr do you need? Nothing full blown as in what is required to obtain a mtg. You should be ok with a RE agent making a statement of value in one sentence on their letterhead, I would think.

I surely wouldn't be spending 250 bucks to obtain a boiler plate appraisal. Also to the OP, did you state to the appraiser the purpose of the appr? The valuation you are looking for is different than the value of the property being mkt'd under ideal conditions and unlimited time frame for selling.

[jdcat]

Hi mensa. I did tell the appraiser this was for a bankruptcy proceeding and he did say the cost would be cheaper because of that. Something about not needing the form for a mortgage company.

The valuation you are looking for is different than the value of the property being mkt'd under ideal conditions and unlimited time frame for selling.

I don't understand, can you explain?

[StartingOver08]

You are looking for a quick sale value. Your valuation would be closer to a distressed property sale valuation (bank owned or short sale value). Those values are generally bottom of the market range for the neighborhood, which in your case is a good thing.

[jdcat]

Ok, so I should tell the appraiser that we are looking for a quick sale value? Will "quick sale value" be stated on the appraisal? And would that be ok for bankruptcy purposes? I'm totally unfamiliar with all of this.