As a realtor in Hernando County primarily (Spring Hill, Weeki Wachee and Brooksville, we have seen many frustrated sellers and we would like to tell them "don't shoot the messenger", but, unfortunately, we are the bearers of the news when we do a Comparative Market Analysis of their home.
It is not that we want to tell them that their home is not what they think it is worth. We are out there and it is the lenders who tell us through their appraisers, what the home is worth, and the appraisals are not coming in where they should. Whose fault is this? The appraisers are not suppose to be using foreclosures and short sales when they do their report, but they like the realtors, have no choice, since that is the hottest market right now and they have guidelines.

A seller needs to know that one of the most important obstacles in selling a home is the appraisal. We don't want to list their home for less than it is worth, we want to sell it! We can only give them an honest and "educated" opinion. The realtors spend a lot of time listing a home, marketing the home, finding the buyers, and following through. There are a lot more "behind the scenes" work that we do and we want to make sure it is as smooth as possible. Besides the appraisal, the lenders are so strict now that it is difficult even with a "pre-approved" buyer. We are going to ask our buyers to have their lender put their information through underwriting, before they go out and become discouraged.

We will always keep you posted.