> An appraiser might agree that the house is worth 750k even if they actually think its 699k but if you try to get a 700k loan for a 350k house they'll write do

> An appraiser might agree that the house is worth 750k even if they actually think its 699k but if you try to get a 700k loan for a 350k house they'll write down 350k in their appraisal. This is kind of the point. The appraiser isn't trying to find the "true value" of the house, otherwise buyers would hire appraisers prior to even offering a bid. The question that the bank wants answered is, "is this house sufficiently matched to loan amount such that if the borrower defaults, the house can be sold for enough money to recoup the loan?" And if the answer is "yes", then they write down the number.