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Appraisal came back $40k lower than I expected and killed my whole plan
I was all set to cash out refi on my house in Austin to consolidate some debt and maybe put in a new HVAC. The online estimators said I had around $110k in equity easy. Well the appraiser came out and valued my place at $40k less than Zillow showed. Turns out my neighborhood has a cap on comps because of some weird HOA resale restrictions I didn't even know about. That killed my entire plan and I wasted a month of my time and $550 on the appraisal fee. Has anyone else had an appraisal come in way under what you expected? What did you do next?
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hernandez.morgan19d ago
...man that sucks, I feel your pain. Those online estimators are garbage sometimes, they don't know about hidden HOA crap or weird local rules. First thing I'd do is call around to a few other appraisers and ask if they know your HOA's restrictions before you pay another dime. You can try to fight the appraisal with your lender but they rarely budge unless you have solid comps that prove their guy was wrong. Might be worth looking into a personal loan for the HVAC instead of tying it to the house, rates are higher but you won't waste another month on appraisal fees. Also check if your HOA has a board meeting coming up and ask them about those resale caps directly... you might be sitting on a time bomb when you finally do sell.
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