@kirkhall - nope, that's a different appraiser. This is the bank appraiser. The Provincial (state for you Americans) appraiser comes in the spring to assess the house...

". . . got stuck . . ."

Get unstuck.

Mark, we tried a 2nd appraiser, but the value came in lower. Rather than keep trying to find another appraiser, we went with him just to get the funds needed to start (and now complete) our project. Thankfully, this was the last appraisal and I shouldn't have to see/hear from him again!

What is going on with that roof on the home that you linked to? Maybe it’s the angle, but the roofline is not pleasant to look at. Also, the door doesnt appear to match the home style.

Wow, I've never heard of an appraiser who would make comments about the style of the house or design choices . . . . at least out loud to the homeowners. I think that was a little unprofessional and rude. Sorry you had to listen to him.

I get it, but it's because we're going the other way - going modern in an area that's anything but. Finding the right architect was searching for a needle in a haystack of painted brick, shiplap (UGH!) and not understanding at all what we were talking about.

For whatever it's worth I'm not a big fan of that roofline either. It looks a bit of a mess and all of those transitions and valleys make me think it's a leak waiting to happen. In general it's too contemporary/not modern but to each their own I guess.

I'm assuming that since this is a bank appraiser, you are acquiring a construction loan, or a construction to perm loan. When you're getting a loan, you are asking a bank to partner with you on this house. They have guidelines to protect themselves and you on the construction costs. They have to maintain a loan to value ratio. Value is NOT necessarily what the "cost" is. I too built a contemporary home in an area with a sea of traditional homes. (like schicksal) Having the plans approved was more difficult. Having said that, there are also "items" that an owner may choose to put into a custom build that they enjoy, but if the property were for sale, buyers may buy it over another property, because of that feature, but no pay more for it. The flack you may get from a bank appraiser is reduced as the loan to value ratio reduces. I.e. you own more of the project than the bank does. As far as the snarky comments, I agree that's not very professional.

Overall, I was (tolerably) ok with the home appraising lower than cost to build, as we were using ICF, which our area doesn't recognize as having extra value, and we brought 30% of the build price to the table. We don't live in an HOA, so our subdevelopment is a mix of all sorts of styles, but mostly country ranches and city-type homes plopped onto 2-acre lots.

But the comments....?! On one visit he complained about our PAINT COLORS (beige, not greige). Everyone (re)paints when they buy a home!

The next, our light fixtures (again, very classic, old-world style to match the home, with only a few pot lights placed for accent lighting on walls)!

He also didn't like we didn't have patio doors off the living room to his idea of the 'backyard', which would have looked TERRIBLY out of place since it is a formal living room, and my 'backyard' is 30' to the property line, while my side yard is 200' to the property line, and is accessed by a massive paneled wood door.

So...our tastes just didn't match. He seemed to accept/adknowledge that we did a good job making the interior and exterior of the home match style-wise, but he really would've rather seen a greige home with minimal casings, carpeted stairs, a giant block cutout for the tv, etc etc...

...so it was weird, because we've gotten numerous compliments form complete strangers (mailman, 3rd party contractors, neighbors), from everyone but our appraiser!

@rockybird - Homes in Winnipeg, MB, Canada are now almost all drafter-designed by 'big builders' who schlep together a floor plan based on the newest thing on HGTV, then use Chief Architect or other softwar to 'autoroof' the type of houses I linked to. Almost all new homes look like that - a snout garage and a million hip roof jutouts! But they have stainless steel appliances, a corner pantry, hardwood tile, and people are buying them!

I am amazed when I travel to the USA (recently South Carolina) and see the wonderfully designed, classical-style, equisitely detailed homes that just don't exist up here!

How can they make a profit with those roofs? I shudder to think what they leave out.

Hello Lookintomyeyes...was just at cibc. They explained that bank appraisals compare your home to similar homes across the country. I was more than annoyed as my home appraised considerably lower than comparables my area.

They explained that bank appraisals compare your home to similar homes across the country. I was more than annoyed as my home appraised considerably lower than comparables my area.

Wow that's a bit unfair as I assume in Canada where you live also determines housing pricing?

Hi cp, yeah I was more than upset to hear this and yup, more than unfair. It could also be just our bank’s system and may not apply to others. And yes, home prices are very local.

@P G - I got to read our report - only homes with 1-1.5hrs of our new home AND in a rural area were considered in our appraisal, and only those that were of significant size. The appraiser really struggled to find even 3 comparables. (ICF homes around me are uncommon, but not rare, but they don't go on MLS. Similarly, the 2 million dollar home around the corner hasn't gone up for sale either!)

If he'd used examples from the nearest city and subtracted the cost of the lot we'd likely have come in closer, but he didn't do that...heck, I had to send HIM comparables!

Managing a portfolio of secondary mortgages for investors, I deal with appraisers regularly. What they come up with is often closely related to who's hiring them. One power of sale I did, (a faster version of foreclosure) I called four appraisers out of the blue. Each one had the same question for me: "what value are you looking for?"

On the lending side, I use the appraiser's information and do my own comps.

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