I finally got my home equity line of credit, but the appraisal came in way lower than expected.

This happened about three weeks ago when I was trying to tap into some equity for a kitchen reno. The bank sent out their appraiser, and the valuation was a solid $25,000 under what I thought, based on recent sales in my neighborhood. It totally changed the amount I could borrow and messed up my budget. Has anyone else had an appraisal come up short and found a good way to challenge it?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.finley1mo ago

Gather your own comps and send a formal appeal.

angela_grant1mo ago

Actually had a buddy who works in commercial real estate say to check zoning changes too. If your area got rezoned for mixed use or higher density recently, that can mess with comps. Found out my own place was suddenly compared to new luxury condos because of a zoning update, not just similar houses. That gave me a real argument for the appeal board.

caleb_ross121mo ago

Yeah, that's exactly what worked for me last year.