🧾 What Happens If Your Home Doesn’t Appraise at the Purchase Price?
- Paul Linn
- May 1
- 3 min read
Updated: May 2

You did everything right. Found a house, made an offer, got it accepted. Or maybe you’re the seller and accepted a great offer—maybe even over asking.
And then… the appraisal comes in low.
If you’ve ever felt the wind get knocked out of a deal, this is usually when it happens. But don’t panic yet—there are options.
🧐 First, Why Would an Appraisal Come in Low?
An appraisal is an independent opinion of a home’s value, required by the lender to make sure they’re not lending more than the property is worth. But it’s not perfect. Here’s why it might come in lower than expected:
The market moved faster than closed sales can support
The appraiser missed key upgrades or features
The home was compared to the wrong comps (too far away or not similar enough)
The appraiser wasn’t familiar with the area
You were in a multiple offer situation and stretched a bit to win the home
It happens more than most people realize—especially in competitive markets.
🔍 Can You Dispute the Appraisal?
Yes—and you should always review the report before deciding what to do next.
As your agent, we’ll go through the appraisal with a fine-tooth comb to look for:
Missing updates or square footage
Bad or irrelevant comps
Errors in the report that can be challenged
A lack of consideration for market demand (like multiple offers)
We can submit a reconsideration of value if we have enough supporting info.
💸 What Happens for the Buyer?
If the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed purchase price, the lender will only lend based on that lower value. So one of three things needs to happen:
The buyer covers the difference out of pocket
The seller lowers the price
They meet somewhere in the middle
If none of those happen—and there’s an appraisal contingency in the contract—the buyer can walk away and keep their earnest money.
🏠 What Happens for the Seller?
As the seller, a low appraisal can feel like a gut punch. But it doesn’t always mean you have to drop the price.
You can:
Negotiate with the buyer to split the gap
Reduce the price if it still makes sense for your goals
Challenge the appraisal with supporting info
Relist the home if you believe another buyer might pay more
We help you weigh the options carefully—based on your timing, your bottom line, and the current market.
💼 What We Do to Help Our Sellers (Before the Appraiser Even Shows Up)
This is where we go to bat.
When we list your home, we don’t just hope the appraiser sees what we see. We proactively:
✔️ Provide a list of recent updates and improvements
✔️ Pull and deliver our own comps that support the price
✔️ Share the number of showings and interest we’ve received
✔️ Let them know if we had multiple offers at that price
We do this because we know: appraisers are human. And just like buyers, they can miss things if we don’t bring it to their attention.
We advocate for your home’s value—with facts.
🧠 Real Example: How I Saved a Low Appraisal From Blowing Up the Deal
I was selling a tri-level home in 2023 and the appraisal came in $15,000 under our purchase price.
The comps weren’t lining up—until I noticed something. A nearly identical tri-level just two doors down had sold at our list price and had one less bathroom than ours. But when the appraiser ran his report, that home was still marked as pending in the MLS… and appraisers can’t use pending sales as comps.
Here’s the lucky part: that property actually closed the same day the appraiser wrote his report. The MLS just hadn’t updated yet. I caught it, got the closed sale details in his hands, and he was able to revise the report using that sale.
If it had closed even one day later, it wouldn’t have counted—and my seller would’ve left thousands on the table.
This is why it pays to have someone watching the details. That day, I saved the deal and got my seller their full price.
📝 Bottom Line
A low appraisal doesn’t have to kill the deal—but it does require strategy. Whether you’re buying or selling, having an agent who knows how to navigate this situation can save you thousands and keep your transaction on track.
Need help buying or selling in a tricky market? Let’s talk. Call or text me anytime - Paul Linn - 317-629-0070
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