I found out from the MERP office in our state (Michigan) that you can use a CMA from a real estate agent to submit to the MERP office in lieu of a paid appraisal from a licensed appraiser. The quotes for appraisals I received were all around $400 - crazy. The CMA from a real estate agent is free - they can't charge, because they're not licensed appraisers.
Just thought I'd toss that out here in case anyone else needs it! :-)
I've been in the real estate profession for decades, and I have seen my fair share of Agents who over-price the house just to get the Listing. I wonder how it works if Agent has the market value set high, but when the time comes to sell the house, and the Buyer's mortgage company hires a license Appraiser who set the value at the normal price.... who pays the difference to MERP, or is that the chance MERP takes? Just curious.
Did the MERP issue resolve itself yet?
Hope things are going okay for you.
Hello.