Appraisal Came in At Sale Price

Appraisal = what someone is willing to pay for the place
You were willing to pay that price

This is typical -- they look at the comps and will adjust them to match your price or higher.
Don't put too much stock in this.
The mortgage industry is motivated to make the sale too -- the broker gets a commission and if you go into foreclosure later someone else makes a living off it

Thanks a lot Joe. So my suspicions were justified in that they probably do look at the comps to exactly match the price.

who've thunk it? appraisal is about as independent as a borker....

I bet if the appraisal came in below your purchase price, you'd be up in arms, right?

Appraisals are just that "yes man" to make the buyer feel he didn't get robbed and the loan officer not get fired.

To echo joedavis
"This is typical -- they look at the comps and will adjust them to match your price or higher.
Don't put too much stock in this."

What about an independent appraisal for a refi? I don't put much stock in that value either but are the incentives for inflating the price?

Appraisals are a complete joke. I've never had one that didn't match the agreed on price exactly. Total racket.

Appraisal on my first purchase came in at purchase price, appraisal on second purchase came in $5K over. Meaningless, and designed to protect the banks.

Dragonfly, are you an appraiser?

let me guess. the appraiser asked and received the contract of sale prior to giving you that final appraisal #?

let me guess. the bank owns the middleman company that chooses the appraiser, and charges you outrageously high fees for the benefit of their zero-value-added CYA process?

chuckl: uh, no. (Generally those involved in the money side of a racket don't spread the word that is actually is a racket)

They always know what the agreed upon price is & they always make it match- or just over it. In my last sale, my broker arranged the appraisal for me & I know she told him because I was there when he did it & he asked me.... "so the purchase price is $X?" I'm sure there are exceptions but I've never heard of anyone who lost an apartment because it didn't appraise out.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32739806/ns/business-economy_in_turmoil/page/2/

Interesting & timely article today, including some info on this topic

(following from page 2)
" During the boom years, agents and brokers often pressured appraisers to "hit the number" that the buyer and seller had agreed on so the deal would close and everyone could collect fees.

Under new industry rules, mortgage brokers are barred from ordering appraisals themselves. Instead, lenders order appraisals in-house or hire independent firms.

Some real estate agents and homebuilders say the rules are causing delays in closing sales, or undermining sales because appraisals are coming in too low."

Our appraisal when we bought came in 60k above what we paid, which made sense because we were the lowest bidder but the only one without a contingency after two deals fell through. The appraisal for our refi came in 100k below comps, which didn't compute. When I questioned it, the appraiser said the bank didn't need a higher value since our LTV was so low, which leads me to suspect that the appraiser set a value that made the transaction work.

If you don't have confidence in the original appraisal report, ask the bank for a "field review." That means another appraiser (probably from their "trusted" list,)will be asked to review the original report for accuracy and either affirm the original value or offer an alternate value. We do them every day in Manhattan.

The appraisal on the place we're trying to buy came in at exactly the sale price. What a shocker!
This further solidifies my belief that appraisals are bullshit. I want my $400 back.

What happens if your appraisal comes in significantly lower or higher? I'm more interested in higher, because lower probably just means you're not getting a mortgage (at least not for that amount).

But with higher, do you leverage further with a home equity loan if you can get a good rate now and deploy that $?

i bought a place in 2007, closed in 2008 - new construction. we are trying to refinance, and the appraisal came in at 50k above what we paid.

MMARQUEZ 110, you sound like a total ass.

I shouldn't even bother responding to your comment but can you elaborate?
I believe that the apartment was priced accordingly, after all it was on the market for nearly a year. There weren't any really good recent comps. What is the point of the appraisal if it is just going to plug some #s into a formula and spit back the exact same price? Maybe if they gave a range of value I would consider it more accurate, but the exact same number?