Global Services
We provide offerings to satisfy your unique needs, whether selling a home in the U.S., managing a cross-country household goods move, or helping employees to get settled into their new homes in Europe. Our global experience means that you can count on seamless international relocation, no matter what’s next.
Departure Services
From the initial policy consulting call through the move itself, there are a lot of moving pieces associated with an employee relocation. Whether an intra-country/domestic or international relocation, lump sum or complete VIP services package, Sirva is expertly positioned to offer the best departure services available during an international relocation in every region around the world.
Destination Services
Setting your employees up for success upon arrival at their new locations will be key to successfully meeting your company’s goals. Sirva's global network and expansive resources allow us to help clients achieve these goals. Our destination services help employees and their families settle in and prosper in their new homes.
Visa and Immigration
Sirva's global team of experienced international relocation specialists are expertly equipped to manage inbound and outbound global immigration services. With Sirva's Immigration team, the focus is on providing a smooth customer experience that enhances the international relocation process, not just achieving a successful application.
Employee Counseling
For your employees, our service delivery model is focused on end-to-end coordination of international relocation services through a single relocation professional. We provide relocation consultants for domestic/intra-country moves and global assignment consultants for international relocation.
These consultants are your employees’ resource for all communication and services relating to their move. International relocation consultants also coordinate the delivery of all authorized services. Regardless of the service being delivered (temporary housing, moving services, etc.), the employee can rely on the consultant as their one call solution to address any concerns.
VIP Services
Sirva offers VIP services for our clients who seeking an enhanced service for their employees, such as their own personal relocation assistants, in-home cleaning services, personalized family assistance, and other tailored and luxury enhancements.
Related Services
Interested in learning more about our global services?
We would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Understanding Home Appraisal Values in Today's Competitive Market
In today’s competitive market, buyers are facing some unique challenges and struggles when purchasing a home. Inventory levels and mortgage interest rates are at record lows, and home prices continue to rise. Buyers are finding themselves in bidding wars and often end up submitting an offer above the seller’s list price. In this scenario, many buyers are facing the challenges of a “short appraisal,” in which the appraised value is lower than the final sales price of the home.
To help understand some of the challenges in navigating today’s market, SIRVA Mortgage has provided common questions and answers related to when an appraised value is lower than the sales price of the home:
Other similar properties are listed above the price the buyer is paying. Why aren’t they used as comps?
In today’s market, bidding wars can cause listing prices to increase rapidly. Appraisers use historical data in their report to determine value, which includes recent closed sales of comparable nearby properties. Appraisers use only sales that have closed before the inspection date to determine the market value. Active listings and pending sales are not used in determining value. In this current, fast-paced and rapidly changing market, the buyer may be offering to pay more for a home than these recent closed sales can support.
How does this impact financing?
A mortgage loan is based on lower of either purchase price or appraised value. If the appraised value comes in less than the purchase price, this can change the structure of the loan. For instance, a buyer may be required to increase their down payment, or they may find themselves in a situation where Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is required.
If the appraised value is low, can’t the lender just order another appraisal?
A lender is prohibited from ordering a second appraisal in order to obtain a more desirable value. A lender can, however, order a second appraisal if there is a reasonable basis to believe that the initial appraisal was flawed or tainted in the appraiser’s valuation methodology and such basis is clearly and appropriately noted in the mortgage file. The value being less than the purchase price is not itself a “flaw” in the appraiser’s valuation process.
Can a lender dispute the value with the appraiser?
After the financial crisis, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) developed Appraiser Independence Requirements designed to ensure the integrity of real estate appraisals. These requirements limit the contact a lender can have with an appraiser directly to prevent any type of coercion. A buyer, however, can dispute the report. There is a standard form that the buyer can complete and include additional comparable sales they believe should have been considered. This dispute form can then be submitted from the buyer to the appraiser for consideration. The dispute must come from the buyer, not the lender.
What other options does a buyer have when the appraised value comes in low?
Renegotiating the price with the seller is typically the first course of action. In today’s market, however, this can be challenging if the seller has other buyers who are willing to pay the asking price. The buyer may have to withdraw their offer if they are unwilling or unable to pay more than the appraised value of the home. This can pose a challenge if there was no appraisal contingency included in the contract though, and in today’s market it's common to submit an offer without any contingencies. Without an appraisal contingency, the buyer may lose their earnest money deposit.
The good news is SIRVA Mortgage has an experienced team that will counsel your relocating employees on what options are available and the impact on their financing should they find themselves in a situation where the appraised value is lower than the purchase price.
Whatever the financing needs of your transferees may be, SIRVA Mortgage is here to help. With nearly 30 years of focus and expertise in relocation mortgage lending, we understand the important role home financing plays in the relocation process. Please visit our mortgage website to learn more, or contact us, at MortgageClientServices@sirva.com.
Contributors:
Stephanie Captain, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing
For more information please see SIRVA's Blog Disclaimer.
SIRVA Mortgage is engaged in the business of originating residential mortgage loans. We are licensed or authorized to conduct mortgage loan origination in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. SIRVA Mortgage is not a depository institution and does not act or represent itself as a full-service bank. Reference to the term “mortgage banker” is a common, accepted industry term referring to companies engaged only in the business of making mortgage loans. Various state laws and regulations and our license type(s) in various states refer to us as a mortgage lender, mortgage banker or mortgage broker. For our Privacy Policy and Affiliated business relationships disclosures please visit https://mortgage.sirva.com/about/about-sirva-mortgage. Please see the complete required license disclosure below. Call 800-531-3837 for more information. SIRVA Mortgage, Inc. NMLS ID #2240, for licensing information, go to: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Main Office Address is 6200 Oak Tree Blvd., Ste. 300, Independence, OH 44131; Telephone: 1-800-531-3837. For additional disclosures and licensing details please visit: About SIRVA Mortgage