The Value of Buyer Representation in Vermont Real Estate Transactions
Are you familiar with the Real Estate adage that goes; ‘the true value of a property is what a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to pay’? Well, the following rambling discourse has something to do with that subject.
On 2/18/2010, I went to an education update on the appraisal process for existing single family homes in Vermont, and here’s what I found. 
Appraiser’s are having a difficult time with their valuations of Vermont real estate these days due to the lower than normal volume of sales to use as comparables (land is even more difficult). Lower sales volume means fewer recently sold properties that are going to be available as good comps. All of the different features in a home comparison aren’t going to match up as closely, so you’re going to end up with a wider range of value due to approximate (rather subjective) adjustments that must be made to get homes equalized for a fair comparison. It’s one of those things that is part art and part science. Nowadays the art part is more dominant vs. the science, meaning one is less likely to get a precise value based on a really good comparable. As a Buyer’s agent, what this means for me is that I can be an even greater value to my clients. For sure, I need to be using correct assumptions about the value of different adjustments for each feature, but a buyer needs to have help in obtaining information about what price range makes sense for a particular property. Getting help in determining a realistic price range helps everyone reach common ground faster in regards to an offer that a seller will accept (assuming it’s not a short sale or foreclosure, or a fixer upper).
Even though I’m not an appraiser, I can at least do the math in a simple comparable market analysis to give my buyer a general idea about value in any given Chittenden County, Vermont property.
So, it all comes down to the supposed valuation of a property vs. what a ready, willing and able buyer offers to pay. Let the games begin!
