House #11: First Appraisal

For the first time in this business, we’ve actually been caught by surprise at someone else’s competence…

As I mentioned previously, my brother/project manager is buying The Sunglasses House. Normally, we’d be waiting until the 90-day FHA seasoning was completed before we submitted a contract and got the mortgage paperwork started, but we’ve found a new broker who is able to get all the paperwork started prior to the 90-day mark, and can close within a week after the 90 days. And not only can this broker get the paperwork started, but he can also order the appraisal(s) on the property before the 90 days are up.

Well, we didn’t expect it, but about an hour after my brother got the loan paperwork into the broker, the broker ordered the first appraisal. And about an hour after that, the appraiser called us to schedule the walk-through for tomorrow.

Normally, this would be great. But, the problem is, we’re still not done with the house!

All the big stuff is done, but there are still a lot of little things that make the house look less than perfect. For example, not all the switch plates and outlet covers are on; the jacuzzi tub hardware hasn’t been installed; the mirrors haven’t been hung; and the hardwood floors are a mess until they get their third coat of polyurethane.

We don’t want to put the appraisal off, as this would likely annoy the appraiser, but we’re also not thrilled that she’ll be walking through the house with it in less than 100% finished condition. Hopefully, she’ll understand that she caught us a bit by surprise, and will not hold the little stuff against us. Had we been more used to people actually being competent at their jobs (like our new broker and the appraiser are being), we would have been more careful to make sure the appraisals were put off another day or two.

I guess we’ll see what happens!