real estate mike's Q&A

worst(worse,most horrible) house in the best neighborhood that fits your needs and the seller is at a disadvantage. Some r.e. investment companies simply offer much less than current cma values and a certain percent of owners just say the heck with it and let it go.   How about this scenario, the owners inherit the house and upon arrival for the first time think that the house is haunted and want nothing to do with it!   Or this, you are a self proclaimed country boy(hick), so what are the odds of having to compete with a line of investors on the county courthouse steps for a property that is going for a ridiculous sum to cover a cost to the county.  Check the obits for a double homicide, if they owned the house outright no surviving beneficiaries then you could have a winner!   Yeah me, that's all I got. 

tankless water heater and nickel plated door knobs..

because the guesstimate guessed wrong. it's o.k. it happens. We can reasonably assume from a simliar finish out on the inside that your property is indeed worth more. is it fair that this website says otherwise; maybe not.  

the market "says" prices were too high for a great recession. Some say the great recession is over; I think not. Home prices, generally speaking, cannot be severely undervalued. There are many more forces at work to ensure that home prices don't become undervalued than there are that could depress prices. The key points are: local(and in vegas's case national) economy, substitutes to buying(rentals), inventory of properties for sale, potential buyers mindset.

having your realtor find out can save you time and frustration also since a property could be under contract, already sold, or off the market.

I am not insecure as a Realtor. I know what I bring to the table. The average commission last I read was around 5.4%. Reading some info on the net does not make anyone savvy about marketing or purchasing property. I love the physician reference; it reminds me that drug companies think the public is supposed to go to their professional and tell them which drug they want because they saw a 30 second commercial. It either obviously works as a marketing tool or they just need a write off. I know and understand that some people are better off renting than owning. Also a small percentage of people can successfully market their property without any real estate agent whatsoever. In a strong sellers market it becomes much easier to market a house. Some people need my assistance; some don't.

appraisal site..now that's funny! but what's not funny was his perception of such

the credit score trap is a scam. Americans have been poor savers and therefore coming up with 20% or more down is difficult. Especially when home prices are/were inflated. Dual income families makes the whole scenario easier. Contracts cannot force people to be ethical(although it can hurt the pocketbook).  Lenders that have inexperienced and not enough people on staff. Yet many houses change hands each day; go figure..

ALWAYS get a home inspection! Builders subcontract and sometimes subcontractors get paid slowly, not what they expected or not at all. Quess what happens to the quality of work? You're expecting brand new, everything works, but you want to skip the inspection? That is not logical. Also what if corners were cut; would you want to know? Just because something is built to code(or accidentally passes) doesn't make it what you expect. Find out for sure..it's only a few hundred bucks for peace of mind. best of luck 

If you really want to know then ask for an appraisal based on the proposed improvements. If the appraiser who did the appraisal when you bought the property is local then that might be a good place to start. One way to gauge would be to look at the tax records of your neighbors who have the improvements you have in mind. Another way is to have your Realtor find comps in your area of properties with the improvements you have in mind. Sounds like you don't want to overdo it, so you need facts. best of luck