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Can Sacramento Agents Talk to Appraisers?
Whether Sacramento agents talk to appraisers depends on the agent.
If you are wondering if Sacramento Agents talk to appraisers or whether this type of communication between agent and appraiser is allowed, you are not alone. Even real estate agents are often confused. They hear that interaction between agents and appraisers is against the law, and they don’t understand at what point in the transaction this can apply. Agents, I hate to say, are often guilty of not thinking through complex situations. They sometimes tend to memorize bits and pieces that don’t always add up.
If you think I am being too hard on real estate agents in general, especially when I am a Sacramento agent myself, consider the guy who sends an offer to the listing agent and comments: “This is really an aggressive offer. It’s a very strong offer. You will love this serious purchase offer,” and then you discover the purchase offer is only $1,000 over list price. Especially when every other offer is much, much higher. And multiple offers are rolling in by the handfuls . . . Do these agents talk to appraisers? Probably not.
To answer the question: Can Sacramento agents talk to appraisers? Absolutely. Before the appraisal is completed, a Sacramento agent can send comparable sales to the appraiser, discuss the property, sell the features and benefits and explain why the sales price is solid. Contrary to popular belief, a Sacramento agent does not have to meet with the appraiser at the property to be aggressive as that is pretty much old school thinking. We have cell phones and email today, and the written word is powerful.
It helps if the Sacramento agent is an authoritative figure (with experience) and can speak with the appraiser from that position, utilizing appraisal guidelines. Appraisal speak. If the agent can’t talk appraisal speak, the agent could have a problem. Communication should be limited to similar configuration, age, condition and location. If there are no comparable sales — and in many neighborhoods comps are limited due to inventory shortages — it helps to understand the principle of substitution.
Most appraisers will contact the listing agent to determine access to the property. Is your Sacramento agent prepared to speak with the appraiser? Further, can Sacramento agents talk to appraisers? They can, especially if your agent is Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate. Call 916.233.6759.
Tips for Sacramento Realtors Who Meet With the Appraiser
Sacramento Realtors who meet with the appraiser are often disillusioned.
It only gets better from here on out, so here goes my first tip for Sacramento Realtors who meet with the appraiser: DON’T. The appraiser does not want to meet with the listing agent and most certainly is not interested in the buyer’s agent’s opinion about world politics, either. The appraiser is at the home to do a job that is best done without a yakking agent bending her or his ear. They’re just too polite to say it.
This is not to say that appraisers don’t appreciate information about the home that might not be evident from the tax rolls, MLS description or physical inspection because they do. If an agent or seller has access to crucial data that would make a difference in the appraisal, that information can be emailed to the appraiser or discussed over the phone. It won’t help to increase chances of a higher appraisal to deliver that document in person. I often engage in lengthy phone conversations with appraisers to ascertain their expertise in a given neighborhood and lend my advice but I would not show up on the front steps, back against the front door, arms splayed, to force a discussion.
Now, when I was younger and selling real estate in Orange County in the 1970s, I used to believe the hoopla and myth that it made sense to meet the appraiser. But those bellbottom-and-incense days are long gone and did not involve the appraisals laws we have today. Although I did spot bellbottoms with a twist, skinny thighs, at Nordstrom this spring. I won’t go so far as to say triple martinis and 3-hour lunches were not the norm or that some appraisers were crooked or on the take, but stuff was more relaxed during the Nixon-Ford-Carter era, let’s say. Yet, especially in Sacramento today, Sacramento Realtors who meet with the appraiser are often very disappointed that exuding their incredible charm, and that hand shaking, eyeballing and flitting about does not influence the appraisal value.
To give you an idea about how misled some agents are, there are buyer’s agents in Sacramento who believe it’s a good idea to send over to the listing agent the comparable sales, as they see it, along with a purchase offer. They have no clue how insulting they are, and what a bad impression they make. These are the guys who live in their own little fantasy drama where the world revolves around them and them only. The additional problem is they probably convinced their poor buyer to offer a price that won’t get them into escrow. And there’s often no changing those dual errors.
In real estate, there is stuff you hear that if it’s repeated enough times you might begin to believe. Then, there is the real world. The real world says Sacramento Realtors who meet with the appraiser are often wasting their time and, in fact, knowing some of them, they could be hurting their chances. Treating appraisers with respect is a much better path to follow. Allow the appraisers do their jobs in peace. Don’t invite trouble where trouble does not exist.
