My cash out refi appraisal came in $50k under what Zillow said my house was worth

I was all set to pull out some cash to fix up my kitchen and bathroom, thinking my place in Tempe was sitting pretty. The Zestimate showed a nice, fat number that made the whole plan seem easy. Then the actual appraiser came through, and his report knocked the wind right out of me. He pointed out my old roof and said the comps he used were for updated homes, not ones with my original 90s everything. I learned that online estimates are just a starting point, and real appraisers look at stuff you totally forget about. Now my loan officer says I need to either put more money down or forget the extra cash I wanted. Has anyone else had their appraisal come in way lower than they expected, and what did you do?

3 comments

3 Comments

loganbaker10d ago

Did you try asking your loan officer if you can challenge the appraisal with your own comps? Sometimes they'll let you submit a rebuttal if you find better data.

abby30810d ago

Zillow guesses, appraisers work. Try what loganbaker said.

jesse_craig268d ago

Man, my buddy had this EXACT thing happen. His appraisal was way off because his basement wasn't finished like the comps. He had to scramble and use a different lender who ordered a second one.