Question:
“I just bought a house and we closed a few days ago. We paid $550,000, but now I just heard from a neighbor that the old owner had the house appraised and it was for $525,000. Didn’t they have to disclose that?”
Answer:
Simple answer is “no.”
But I rarely keep it simple, do I? So let me address several points:
- It may or may not have appraised at $525,000. Don’t believe everything you hear from neighbors. Once a neighbor (nicely) argued with me about the price a home had sold for…a home that was sold…by me!
- If it did appraise for 525K, when? Perhaps it was before we had a recent price run-up.
- Even if it appraised for less than what you paid, who cares? An appraisal is one person’s opinion. Sure, appraisers are supposed to be experts, but appraisals are often off by 5%, 10%, even 30% or more.
- Again, appraisals don’t have to be disclosed. Note: if an appraisal notes a defect, the defect must be disclosed, though the appraisal itself need not be.
(Required disclaimer: I am not an attorney, so please verify my answer with a legal professional.)
