No appliances in the house. would that affect appraisal?

Question

Me and my husband are first time home buyers.

we made an offer for a beautiful house in california.

now we are on appraisal. but the thing is that the

house does not have any appliances (stove, dishwasher, microwave)

our lender explained to us that the offer could not

be successful because there are no appliances.

my question is why can't the bank install the appliances?

i know they dont want to loose money.

so in that case.

can we buy the appliances & let the appraisal guy know that?

is there a difference?

Answer 1

Banks are not in the home ownership business by choice, and typically dispose of their REO properties 'as-is'.

If houses in the neighborhood normally transfer with kitchen appliances the appraiser should treat the lack of same as a deficiency when adjusting the comparables.  The negative affect should not be too great unless this is an upper end house where top of the line appliances, custom ranges, and sub-zero refrigerators are common.

The appraiser's contractual obligation is to the lender in most circumstances and s/he should only be discussing generalities with you.  

To appraise the property as if it had appliances would involve a hypothetical condition and the bank would have to request that the appraisal be done that way, which would require a subsequent visit (at additional cost) to verify installation and change the appraisal to an 'as-is' value.

Answer 2

The house may be overpriced even if appliances were installed.  Be at the house when the appraiser arrives.  Walk through the house with him and if house falls short ask why.  You can discuss with the appraiser if appliances make a difference.  A mortgage company will not lend you more than the house is worth under any circumstances.

Answer 3

Why would the bank install appliances? Why would that matter? Why wouldn't you simply install appliances after you moved in?

If the house is designed to have built-in appliances then it might have a minor impact on the value, but why should it matter? That doesn't make sense.