News about appraisals

And there's another great article from today's L.A. Times real estate section about the appraisal side of the real estate equation. It's by Dian Hymer and is in the House Hunting column. Excerpt: "Because property values are under pressure in some areas, lenders may ask to see information about comparable listings that sold within the last three months (prior to the current market, appraisals up to six months' old could be used)." And "for some lenders...want information about comparable properties that are currently for sale. Current list prices that are lower than recent sale prices could be a red flag..." And "...borrowers may be required to increase their cash down payment by 5%...," "It has become more common recently for lenders to require two appraisals..." Finally, some good advice: "Check with your loan agent to find out how long it will take to process and fund your mortgage." In other words, staff cutbacks have increased processing times.