What if it doesn't appraise?

Sometimes a home won't appraise for the sales price. What happens then? Well there is a built in loop-hole in our purchase and sale agreements that states that if the appraiser can't find value, the buyer can back out and get their earnest money deposit returned to them. This is also to protect the lender, of course they are not going to get into an upside down deal. There are other solutions though. The seller can reduce the sales price to meet the appraisers value, in order to save the deal. You would think that they would do this for sure because they will probably meet the same problem with the next buyer, if there is a lender involved in the deal. Or, if the buyer really wants the home and the seller will not reduce, the buyer can come in with the difference in cash. Not a good solution. Who wants to overpay? Another thing to consider is that when you purchase for cash, you are not required to get an appraisal. The appraiser is hired by the lender and in Idaho it is customary for the seller to pay the appraisal. In a cash deal, the seller might not agree to pay for it, but it would still be wise to get one. I met an appraiser just this past week who will do a 'consult' for only $150 (rather than a full appraisal for $350-$400). This, like a home inspection, would be money well spent and could potentially save you thousands or more.

Good News Everybody.

It looks as though the inventory is shrinking! Ada County has a 6 month supply of single family homes, Boise has a 4.9 month supply, and Meridian is at 6.9 months. Hopefully things continue to firm up.

On another note, I wanted to talk about some of the drastic changes our area has gone through over the past couple years. With the increase in population (close to 100K, I think) brings an increase in commercial development. Commercial boom always follows a residential boom. Anyhow, so many new retail outlets and restaurants have popped up. One of my favorite places to eat lunch right now is Flatbread Community Oven in Bown Crossing. They have great and creative sandwiches and good pizza. If you have a sweet tooth, cross the street and take a peak at the candy shop and you will see some vintage candy that you haven't seen since your childhood. Also, I have been to Franco Latino several times. Mortimer's new restaurant is definitely worth a visit. Back to the development, it's good to see more commercial spreading out even in the Nampa area. Now we only need the ACHD to get their act together and get us more roads, wider roads, express ways, rapid transit from Nampa to Boise and so on. I know that our growing pains will prevent some from relocating to this area. To that I say, consider carefully where you have to commute to and try to either live close to work or reverse commute or travel during non-rush hour traffic. It's probably going to be a while until the roads catch up to the population (or never) so choose your home location carefully.