My buyer is using a VA loan and I just received a call from my loan officer and they said that the VA appraiser initiated Tidewater?  What the heck is Tidewater?  In a simple explanation, when an appraiser initiates Tidewater, that means that they are having a difficult time finding comparable closed sales to bring the value in at the sale price.

Starting in 2003, Tidewater allows the appraiser to reach out to the point of contact (typically the underwriter) and allow them the opportunity to provide additional comparable sales to justify the sale price before issuing the appraisal (notice of value or NOV).  The underwriter will then reach out to the loan officer and ask them to get with the buyer’s agent to provide additional comparable sales to assist the appraiser to justify the value (sale price).

It’s actually kind of nice to have the notice upfront.  Conventional, FHA and Rural Development appraisals will just come in at whatever value the appraiser can find comps for and you would have to dispute the value if it comes in low.  Tidewater at least allows you the opportunity upfront to provide the additional comparable sales to hopefully help with the value before receiving the appraisal.

You will only have 2 days to provide the additional comparable sales to the appraiser or they can go ahead and complete the appraisal and issue the NOV to the VA, so act quickly!

If you have questions, please contact me at the information below.

Jim Papatheodore
Mortgage Loan Officer
NMLS ID 131478
www.LoanJim.com
Jim@LoanJim.com
810.444.0024