hello appraisers, i wanted to be clear on the USPAP rule on using comps that have sold twice within a year. I mean i did a house in alpharetta, sold for 15k more. Of course this was a normal sale on MLS. would there be a problem? big appreciation in the market oh course. !

Nathan

Maybe yes maybe no. Verify, support and be ready to defend your position. If you can't find support there is a problem. If you have support go with it.

Now I was recently in court for a $70,000 sale which sold within 30 days for $170,000. Now that's a problem.

do a statistical search in FMLS for the year you appraised the house and for the time since,that will show if there is any deprecation. In many of the markets I work, such as west Cobb, the market didn't appreciate measurably between 2005 and 2006.

Nathan,
I assume you spoke with an agent, or a principle invloved with the sale. Was there possibly an improvement done to the house?

Nathan: We see that alot here in Oregon especially in Northeast Portand, where it is the norm to buy a home fix it up and sell it for much more months later. Of course I make sure to write why it sold for so much more. They probably just did a lot of updating or improvements?

Thanks guys, yea, listing on MLS didnt really indicate why it sold for a higher value

I mean the house was built in 2005, a townhome, theres not much you can do, it also didnt indicate what was done.

I am not aware of any USPAP rule that says I can't use a comp that sold before in the same year or twice in the same year. I am aware that if you use a comp that sold previously within the last 6 months, and has a 25% increase or more in the sales price, you must explain why the increase in sales price.

If you are using a comp that is also your subject, Fannie Mae says you may not use it as any of the first 3 comps.

I just used two that sold for a ton more BUT one was bought off foreclosure and completely renovated and the other was bought by an investor and also completely renovated in 30317. As long as there is a legit reason there should be no problem. I do believe the point of the requirement is to keep illegal or questionable flips out of an appraisal.

Here's another option...

I just used a comp that had sold twice, once in May and then again in June, only a month later. What I used was the first sale date and price because that was, as best as could be determined, an arm's length transaction, while I suspected the second one wasn't (no exposure on MLS, not enough time for repairs).

I certainly added a long explanation about why I didn't use the second sale in my addendum!

Marty