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December 18, 2008
House value question
We are thinking of refinancing and I'm worried about the appraisal - anyone want to take an educated guess how much house values have declined in Windsor Terrace since last year? We have an 1850s wood frame row house with details and modern renovation, front porch, nice park block. Any takers want to throw out a price range? 3 stories, 3 BR, 2.5 BA, 16 ft. wide. I'm probably asking for a beating here, but I really don't know what prices have truly done over here.
Comments
You can check out Zillow.com and also chase.com has an apprasial. Ultimately these are only rough guides, what really counts is the actual appraisal itself.
Posted by: 10thStreetReno at December 18, 2008 12:21 PM
Right, I only use zillow to generate a list of possible comps, then I walk around and look at them. You can get pretty close if you honestly assess how your house compares to nearby recent sales.
Posted by: slopefarm at December 18, 2008 1:49 PM
Admittedly wild guess, but that's what you came for: $1M.
Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at December 18, 2008 5:11 PM
I'll play. Without any research, I would say $1.1-1.2 M right now. Sounds like a nice place.
Posted by: theandrewlee at December 18, 2008 6:51 PM
Thanks everyone. I tend to be very doom and gloom and I'm just hoping it is still worth more than 700K. A 20% drop in prices in the past year keeps us solidly okay. Much more than that and we might not be able to refinance but I don't think things have dropped more than that!
Posted by: WTbound at December 18, 2008 8:02 PM
No way a 20% drop!
A house on our block (further from the park; 2-family; attached brick; "Windsor Terrorized" with shag carpet, wood panel, etc) just sold in 2 weeks for full ask of $890,000. I have to believe your location and modernization, as well as single-family (which are easier to sell for reasons unclear to me) would certainly put you well above $700K.
Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at December 18, 2008 10:23 PM
hmm - I def. think you can get more than 700K for it!
closer to 1.1mil
am sorry if i missed this - is it 1 fam or 2
Posted by: gemini10 at December 19, 2008 1:04 PM
Sold for and appraised for are becoming 2 different things. How long ago was that 890K contract signed, what lender, finance terms, etc.? Comps (and now we are talking RECENT comps as in weeks not months) are only 1 part of an appraisal, and appraisals are guided by the lender. However, generally a refi for someone who has maintained good credit, currently employed, and this is the new kicker - has income that would qualify for a new loan in terms of debt to income ratios - can still often get an appraisal that would pass for near their current loan amount unless neighborhood comps have truly fallen fast and hard (think Miami). Appraisals have always been in terms of borrower, lender, and property combined - whether people knew/know it or not. But as of right now, I'd say that you could still get the appraisal and refi you want for that amount. Next month, the Spring, maybe not.
Posted by: williamsburgguy at December 19, 2008 4:55 PM
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