Don't know where to ask this - What is involved in refinancing?

[fed_up_mother]

Specifically, what is involved in an appraisal of a house? I remember that years ago when we refinanced another house, the appraiser didn't even come in. He simply went by the home values in the neighborhood.

Somehow, that doesn't seem right. Frankly, my house is not nearly as updated as most of the houses in my neighborhood. I have more kids. They have more granite. if you kwim? :) Should I expect an appraiser to view the inside of my house if we choose to refinance this time? How can one get an honest appraisal without viewing the interior of the home? And did this type of appraisal lead to some of the mess we're in? I'm kind of putting two and two together here. :)

Thanks for any help.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Appraisals should be done with comparisons between your house and 3 recently sold homes in your

area. The houses should be of similar size. More than likely the appraiser will look at the inside of your home. You are entitled to choose and pay for your own appraiser, but normally the bank that is doing the refinance will pick one for you.

[fed_up_mother]

2. Thanks for the reply!

[Henryman]

3. Refinancing has changed in the last year...

If you hire your own appraiser, the lender will most likely find some technicality to throw out your appraisal. (In my case, the appraised square footage didn't match up with the 50-year old county tax record's square footage by 200 square feet. The lender wanted copies of construction permits for "the addition". I told them that there is no "addition" and therefore no permits. They disqualified the appraisal because of no permits.)

I had to shell out $337 to hire an appraiser from their list. The appraisers told me that now they are required to inspect the inside and take pictures. They are now using 6 recently sold comparables as opposed to 3. I joked that I didn't know 6 houses have sold. The second appraisal missed the 20% equity mark by 1% and I was denied the good rate.

Also, be prepared to show full documentation including 401K and a social security card.

Good luck!

[msongs]

4. most refi fees are just pure scam....

some banko sits at a computer and types in numbers then presses enter. for that you are charged $5000 as a necessary fee. It is a total scam in that case.
then there is the "overnight" mail/documents delivery for $80 that you could have done for $8.99 somewhere lol.

Considering the bank will make $100,000 on loan interest....

BTW if your appraiser got the square footage wrong at your expense they are likely liable for costs due to the failure to submit an accurate assessment.

Msongs

[Warpy]

5. A good appraiser will take a look at the property

and then review the comps. The comps just don't tell the whole story, not if the property is better or worse than the neighborhood as a whole.

Most competent real estate agents can give you a good written appraisal. Some areas have agents who specialize in that and phone calls will turn them up.

Once you have the place appraised, it's a relatively easy matter to go in for refinancing.

Liar appraisals only worked when the market was overheated. It's how Countrywide was able to write mortgages on a shack in California and not know there was a body inside for 5 years.

One thing the current mess we're in has stopped is the liar appraisal.