When I asked my teammate Celeste Purdie to write an article, she thought it would be best to write on a topic that is near and dear to her heart, Veteran Home Buyers. Celeste being a Veteran herself and having used the VA Loan to purchase her property(s) in the past is more knowledgeable than some mortgage brokers.
Read below about a recent experience one of our buyers had, because of Celeste’s superior knowledge was able to make our buyers happy, happy, happy! Thanks Celeste for all you do! Keep it up. (Shameless PLUG), If you know of anyone looking to buy a home in Greater Greenville Area, you need to talk with Celeste Purdie and Greenville Dream Team.
VA Loan – Benefit of using an Expert Buyer Agent
Greenville Dream Team and Celeste Purdie help a lot of Veteran Home Buyers find their Dream Home in Greenville South Carolina and surrounding areas. There are many benefits to a veteran who is buying a home with the VA Loan. One of those benefits revolves around the appraisal.
If the appraisal comes in low it can be very difficult for a veteran buyer that is utilizing the $0 down home loan to close on the property. Most times, the buyer will need to make some tough decisions and ask the seller to renegotiate the purchase price due to the lower value. They can also walk away from the home they fell in love with OR they can appeal a low VA appraisal, this process is called Tidewater Initiative, Tidewater for short.
The VA appraisal is a crucial step in the home buying process and includes reviewing the property for health & safety standards as well as determines the home’s value. There are times when appraisal comes in lower than the purchase price of the home. One of the VA Loan benefits for a low appraisal is “Tidewater.”
Many agents will never have the opportunity to help a borrower invoke Tidewater Initiative or “Tidewater” for short. Greenville’s Dream Team recently had the opportunity to invoke Tidewater and help our veteran home buyer. The appraisal came in short of the purchase price and the listing agent had not provided the appraiser with any comparable properties they used to set the listing price. In this case, the lender reached out to our team to do research and to provide the appraiser with additional comparable properties for consideration in determining the home’s value that would support the purchase price. This process happens before the appraisal report is finalized and typically gives the buyer’s agent two days to provide additional information.
The appraiser took the additional comparable properties and issued a final report that was more inline with the contract price. The final appraisal having increased it was less stressful for the seller to renegotiate a reduced purchase price to sell the home to our client. Our client was appreciative of our expertise and guidance through the process. This is the second time this buyer had a low appraisal cause difficulty on their purchase. Their previous agent and lender did not invoke Tidewater, which resulted in them losing out on that property. Working with knowledgeable agents and lenders that routinely assist buyers with VA Loans is key to successfully closing on our property. Greenville Dream Team with the expertise of Celeste Purdie (a veteran herself), are able to help Buyers navigate the VA Loan process.
Thankfully, in this situation our client had a very favorable outcome. However, veteran buyer’s have one final step that include the formal appeal process which is called the Reconsideration of Value. Come back to read that article.