Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
In the state of California : What is the standard procedure for an appraisal/price change?
When a property appraises for less than agreed price and then the sales price is reduced, is it standard practice to update the appraisal with the new "contract' price"? If so, who is responsible for that? Or is an addendum added to the appraisal instead? If so, who is responsible for that?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Appraisals aren't changed like that. An appraisal is a snapshot of a value at a point in time based on the information existing at the time, including the contract price. If the contract price is substantially reduced to the point that it would affect the appraiser's opinion of market value, the appraiser would probably be willing and able to issue a new appraisal for a small or no additional fee, but once an appraiser issues and appraisal, that appraisal should not be changed. It would be highly irregular to do so.