Appraisal

Another hurdle is the appraisal. A low appraisal can sink a deal on the spot. Several years ago, low appraisals killed more deals than not, as the market was declining practically by the week. Now, thankfully, appraisals are much more reflective of the current state of the market as we are recovering finally— although there are cases where the agreed upon price is higher than the appraisers opinion or the current comparables. If the buyers are paying cash, they technically won’t need an appraisal, but if they are savvy they probably have included an appraisal contingency in the contract. This will allow them to cancel the contract if the appraisal is low, and if you will not lower the price to the appraised value. If they are financing the home, the home must appraise for at or higher than the sales price, or a) you must lower the sales price or b) they must bring additional funds to the table to cover the difference (if their lender will even allow them to do so). Otherwise— the contract will be cancelled.