Part I

Time and time again I have told people to get their own appraisals. This is what you need to be thinking. This is how your mindset needs to be.  If I go out and ask somebody to get an appraisal what credibility does it have unless I go through somebody that a bank would also vouch for?

Now you can go through somebody that a bank will take (and you probably should) but still you need to be the one doing the hiring of the appraisal.

Think about it people! That is the basic point, right!

This way you don’t have any hanky-panky going on and you don’t have anybody telling them what they have to have and you don't have anything to worry about. Don’t worry - this isn’t as complicated as it seems!

Just make sure that you get a fair market value appraisal.

 Let’s take a look at a situation. Say you have a property that you have almost completely rehabbed but you have a few questions about aesthetics. You are wondering if there is any wisdom in not doing the carpet or the basement and in putting it on the market with the terms that if they take an option to buy, the money will go back into the house.

Now maybe you are doing this because you are short on cash. What should you do?

First of all I would never put carpet in a basement. Anybody looking will know that you will put the carpet in there of the color they choose. Of you may give them an incentive to pay for their own carpet and put it in.

Now if this is near a war zone, all the more reason not to put the carpet in there. It is one of the first targets. And it is also the terms likely to get somebody who is going to follow through on an option to buy. You need to ask yourself this question? Is the house ready to sell? If so, then get a realtor and put it on the market. When you have done this, only then will you will have the full force of the MLS with it. Now are you thinking of another solution? What else can you do? Maybe you could lease it out? In part II we will discuss the answer to the lease option.