The first two calls
Call your own client first, and call before they hear a number from anyone else.
- Calling your buyer
- The appraisal came back at [number], which is [gap] under our contract price. This is common and it is not the end of the deal. There are five ways this gets solved and I want to walk through all of them before you react.
- Calling your seller
- I have news and a plan in the same call. The appraisal came in at [number]. Before you say anything about what your home is worth, know that I agree with you — but the lender lends on this number, not on ours. Here's how deals like this close.
- Buying time
- I'd like 48 hours before either side answers. Nobody makes their best decision in the first hour of this.
- The line that calms both
- Remember the appraiser wasn't hired to price the home. They were hired to protect the lender's collateral. That's a narrower job than what you and I do.
The five ways out
Put all five on the table before anyone anchors on one.
- 1. Seller reduces to value
- Cleanest and fastest. Worth remembering: the next buyer's appraisal will very likely land in the same place, so this number is going to follow the house.
- 2. Buyer covers the gap in cash
- Only works if the buyer has reserves left after closing costs. Confirm the cash exists before offering it as a solution.
- 3. Meet in the middle
- Seller drops part, buyer brings part. The most common outcome and usually the fastest to agree.
- 4. Reconsideration of value
- Formal challenge through the lender with new comparable data. Slower, and it works far less often than agents hope — but it is worth doing when you have genuinely better comps.
- 5. Change the loan structure
- A different program, a different down payment, or a second appraisal on a new lender file. Ask the loan officer before assuming it is impossible.
Studying alone is the hard way. Sit in on a live Deal Clinic — free.
Every Wednesday at 10:00 AM Central, Sarah Richards — a principal broker with 23 years in Tennessee real estate — walks through real deals, real contracts, and the exam questions students miss most. No card, no course purchase. Just show up.
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Building a reconsideration request
A rebuttal that is an opinion gets ignored. A rebuttal that is data gets read.
- Rule one
- Never argue the value. Argue the comparables. The only reviewable question is whether the appraiser used the right sales.
- What to submit
- Three closed sales, better matched on gross living area, age, condition, and location, all closed within the lookback window the lender requires.
- The format
- One page. Address, close date, price, and a single line saying why it is a better match. No adjectives.
- Include the upgrades
- Dated invoices for major work — roof, HVAC, systems. Appraisers often price improvements they were never told about.
- Note factual errors plainly
- Square footage, bed and bath count, lot size, or a missed finished basement. Factual corrections move numbers far more often than opinions do.
- Who submits it
- It goes through the lender, not to the appraiser directly. Ask the loan officer for the exact intake process and expected turnaround before you promise your client a date.
Studying alone is the hard way. Sit in on a live Deal Clinic — free.
Every Wednesday at 10:00 AM Central, Sarah Richards — a principal broker with 23 years in Tennessee real estate — walks through real deals, real contracts, and the exam questions students miss most. No card, no course purchase. Just show up.
Reserve with your email and we'll send the link each week. Unsubscribe anytime.
More playbooks
Appraisal, reconsideration of value, and appraisal-contingency procedures vary by lender, loan program, and state contract. Confirm the process with the lender handling the file.
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