UPDATE 2/15/12: Video - QuickenLoans "Appraisal Advice" - Good? or Bad? Let us know your thoughts!

UPDATE!  A NEW video (with comments from Quicken) has been posted to the bottom of the original post dated 2/12/2012). 

The following is from the QuickenLoans Zing! blog:

"Appraisals seem to be a hot topic as of late, and given the fact that we happen to have a gentleman that loves to talk about appraisals, we figured it would make a good Watch-It Wednesday."

"Dan Friedberg is back with another insightful three minutes of appraisal advice. Take a look at the video to see

• what should be fixed up before an appraiser swings by,
• what appraisers are not necessarily interested in seeing, as well as
• where appraisers get their information."

"This is guaranteed to be the most informative three minutes of your day.

Informative? Maybe . . . but are all tips correct?

Here are a couple of quotes:

"FHA appraisals are much more strict . . . .If you have things like a missing handrail, a crack in the sidwalk, you know uhhhh . . .if the carpet is screwed up, or if there's water damage . . . that's ALWAYS going to need to be fixed on an FHA. They're really nit pickey about stuff."

 

On landscaping that cost $15,000. . . . "While it may [increase value] in terms of a "sale", when it comes to an appraiser that makes no difference. All they're looking at is the square footage of the home, the way that it's built, the amount of rooms that it has, in comparison to homes that have sold in the neighborhood." "So they really don't care about how nice your appliances are, or the nice fixtures that you have, or the paint, or the Man Cave in the basement, and things like that. It's really just square footage and recent sales."

Let us know YOUR thoughts after watching the video!

 

 

             UPDATE!!      UPDATE!!       UPDATE!!

From Eric Mally of QuickenLoans - 2/15/2012:

Hi Brian. The other day, you posted a video from Quicken Loans with less-than-perfect information regarding the appraisal process. That video was shot with one of our bankers, not a certified appraiser.

We have since reshot the video with a certified general appraiser with 25+ years of experience. We would appreciate if you would please post this video as well, seeing that it is more informative and correct.