Ask Henry
01/24/11 Categories: Ask Henry
Time Adjustments
Dear Henry,
I am seeing appraisers applying time adjustments in a wide variety of ways. It would be good if everyone were on the same page!
The Fannie Mae guideline on time adjustments says that if the sale is over 3 months old, you should apply a time adjustment. Does this mean that if the sale is under 3 months old, no time adjustment is required, even though the market is declining? Should the time adjustment be from the date of contract to the subject appraisal date, or to 3 months prior to the subject appraisal date? I have been unable to find an answer to this question anywhere. I am making time adjustments on all comparables up to the effective date of the subject appraisal, but don't know if I am being overly conservative. Thank you in advance for your help.
Dear Henry,
I am seeing appraisers applying time adjustments in a wide variety of ways. It would be good if everyone were on the same page!
The Fannie Mae guideline on time adjustments says that if the sale is over 3 months old, you should apply a time adjustment. Does this mean that if the sale is under 3 months old, no time adjustment is required, even though the market is declining? Should the time adjustment be from the date of contract to the subject appraisal date, or to 3 months prior to the subject appraisal date? I have been unable to find an answer to this question anywhere. I am making time adjustments on all comparables up to the effective date of the subject appraisal, but don't know if I am being overly conservative. Thank you in advance for your help.
Toni Stiffler
tstiffler@comcast.net
Dear Toni,
The Fannie Mae guidelines (which Fannie Mae points out are just guidelines, and not mandatory requirements) suggest that a time adjustment is desirable for comparable sales that are over 3 months old. When you don't comply with a Fannie Mae guideline, I recommend that you put a comment in your appraisal report explaining why you made this decision. This will be helpful to readers (and reviewers) of your report. This 3-month guideline does not imply that a time adjustment is unnecessary when the period is less than three months, if the appraiser thinks one is necessary.