Re-blogged ActiveRain article "Great News For Appraisers", with permission from Mike Lay
I am very excited today because I found out that we NO LONGER NEED TO FIND AND USE THE "BEST" COMPS IN OUR REPORTS! Nope, it looks like that old, outdated method of choosing the most comparable sales is going the way of the woolly mammoth. From now on, the only important attribute of a comparable is that it MUST HAVE SOLD IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS.
Think of how much easier our life is going to be now! We don't have to worry about stupid little things like proximity, or similarity of quality, age, condition, lot size, age, or even size. So feel free to go off the charts with your adjustments, because that is okay now! As long as they sold in the past three months, they are automatically now your best comps.
Of course you are thinking, "Mike, you're losing it. The most recent sales are not automatically the best sales. That's crazy talk! Often sales that are older are much more similar and much better indicators of value. Who would think that a 3,000sf house built last year is the best comp for a 60 year old 1,900sf home just because it was a recent sale? You just need to make sure that the area has not experienced a decline in values, or is experiencing extended marketing times which may adversely affect the Subject as compared to those older sales."
That, unfortunately, is 2008 thinking. You need to bring yourselves up to date! There is a new paradigm now! At least according to the underwriters I have been dealing with lately, who refuse to accept an appraisal with 2 recent sales and three over 6 months (but less than 9 months) that were the EXACT SAME FLOOR PLAN, and after I had provided extensive data that sales were increasing, sale prices were stable, average cost/sf was stable, etc. (I've now had this discussion about 4 different appraisal reports with 3 different lenders.)
There I was, stuck in my old ways of picking the most similar comps and providing statistical analysis to show why they should be given most consideration. All I had to do was stick in 2 more sales that sold in the past 3 months, regardless of size and age differences, and everything was fine and the file was through underwriting!
Fortunately, I am now enlightened to the new ways, and am looking forward to just searching an ever-expanding search area without regard to similarity until I can capture 3 or 4 sales that occurred within the past 3 months. It will be so much easier, I now look forward to each new day with such enthusiasm I can hardly stay in bed! No more dreary old research and analysis for me! Join the wave!!!!
PS - For those of you unable to recognize rampant sarcasm when you read it, I am just kidding. There is no new method, no new paradigm, just me venting a little. Sorry to have gotten your hopes up...
AUTHOR: Mike Lay, Appraisal House - Austin Office: Serving Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas/Ft. Worth. (800) 497-2660 X-3 Cell - (512) 785-5149
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