Buyers' Remorse

MASS WE Made an offer, which was immediately accepted by the seller, on a single family home in Massachusetts. We then negotiated after the inspection report and arrived at an agreed $576,000. (The original list was $599,000). We (my fiance and I ) felt rushed from the beginning of the process, yet we yielded entirely to our buyer broker's advise.

With 2 weeks to go until closing, I began an analysis of over 20 homes for sale in the community that our house is in, comparing current assessed value (by the city tax assessor's office) to the list price of a given home. The ratio was 72.6%...When I got the ratio for our house, it was 66%. In other words,
based on this analysis, the "fair" list price was about $545,000, not $599,000.

We currently await the lender's appraisal of the house we are buying. Because we are financing 50%, at first the lender was going to just perform a "drive by" assessment. But because we wish to know the lender's appraisal of the entire house, in and out, we are awaiting the full appraisal now.

Several RE people have said that $576,000 is way to high for this house, esp. since we must put in a minimum of about $80,000 to bring electric to code, redo the delapadated roof, and fix up what was a neglected house.

Our buyer's broker discourged us from seeking $545,000 early on, she discouraged us from asking the seller to either replace the roof or compensate us at closing for a new roof, and seems highly uncomfortable that we, the buyers, wish to see a boea fide appraisal.

Yes, (gulp) we did sign the P&S agreement...my fault. However, if the lender's appraisal comes in below the contract price, do we have a case? We do want the house, but at a fair price. We feel our broker did not live up to her stated duties, including fiduciary duty to the buyers (us). Is there an issue of law here that may help us arrive at a lower price this far in the process?
Thank you for your advise and consideration,
Sincerely,
KB & BM

[MortgageGuru]

Once the appraisal comes back sit down and look at it very carefully. The numbers to look at first are the Gross and Net Adjustments on the comps. Next is the $ / Sq. ft. for each property. Then curb and location appeal. If they have to go more than 2 miles away for any of the comps then have the appraisal sent to another appraiser and have them do a desk review. This will cost about $75 but the second professional opinion is well worth it. You can also get an idea on local comps by running the address through an automated valuation system. There are several free ones online and all you should need to fill out is the address and nothing else.

As far as being able to renegotiate the purchase price, look at your contract.

MortgageGuru,
What are some links for automated valuation websites? I did a search and only found ones that wanted money and /or membership dues.

Thanks!
NJWhite

[lmp518]

You can go to ...domania.com....It's free you can check out what the home last sold for, what other homes on the street and neighborhood sold for .I think you have to just register and create a username**************Hope this help's.....