The rep in question is their exclusive real estate agent and the sister in law of the builder. Here is my prepared response. Please let me know what you think.
Hi [Name omitted],
I gave a lot of thought to this after our conversation yesterday and I spoke with [Mrs. Booma] about it last night. While I appreciate the information you provided and your take on the situation, I disagree in principle with most of what you have presented.
The information you were able to provide for comps more or less matches what is in the appraisal. Given that the previous [Builder] homes sold for $130-$131 and the surrounding homes of other builders sold for $129, I’m not sure what warrants the price rise in our situation. We of course received upgrades in exchange for an increased purchase price, but every spec home I have come across includes something similar. You and every other builder we visited confirmed this to us in every house we toured.
I understand we are first time buyers and we are not in tune with the market, but it seems that the price was raised on our house arbitrarily compared to substantially similar homes sold in the recent past. I don’t feel it is our responsibility to bear that burden and I feel the comps support the appraisal price. Ultimately it is the right and responsibility of the seller to set a price that the market will support.
As for the impact the VA appraiser had on the situation, or whether or not he had a “chip on his shoulder”, I very much doubt any personal feelings on either side entered into the matter. He was simply doing his job. I understand through you and other sources of information that VA appraisers are often conservative, however it is my understanding that this has more to do with their independence from market influence and referrals than any vendettas or incompetence.
As the appraisal is the only one available I must rely on it. Speculating about the nature of a separate appraisal is not a reasonable basis for negotiation in my opinion. It may be true that a conventional appraiser may find the value to be higher, but the only way to know is to find a conventional buyer. As we made it very clear from the beginning that we would use a VA loan this should have always been a factor and, if VA loans were not acceptable, it would have been more prudent on your part to avoid the deal altogether.
While you were right in your assertion that another buyer can and would be found, that does not prevent this very scenario replaying on the next attempt to sell the house. It would also require time, energy, and expense to find a replacement buyer in this market this time of year. I understand that you have other homes in the neighborhood to sell and we believe a solution exists that would be equitable and advantageous to both sides.
If [Builder] will agree to credit closing costs to the amount of $3,600 we will maintain the purchase price as-is, thus protecting your future comps. We have no great wish to start the process over again, but the out of pocket expenses are beginning to snowball as we are already $500 in the hole for missing our 10/3 rate lock. While we have the resources to address these issues, it is not a sacrifice we can comfortably make.
If the above solution is agreeable we are happy to move forward and close on Tuesday. If not we will of course evaluate and respond to any alternative solutions you and [Builder] may have before deciding whether or not this is still a valid option for our first home.
Thanks,
[Booma & Mrs. Booma]
