I had a buyer who bought a couple of the newer Vine City homes. The homes never had a certificate of occupancy and had been badly vandalized. They were purchased for between $30K-$40K. The appraisal sounds accurate based upon my knowledge of the area and condition of homes in that area. As others have said, the best indication of price is either an appraisal or a negotiated price between a ready, willing and able buyer and seller.

Your house may be worth 96.5K, could be less or it could be more -- more information is needed to give you a fair assessment of your particular situation.

In order to give a fair appraisal of your home it would be necessary to post pics if you don't have the opportunity for agents to visit your home to assess everything. The range of "3/2's" in terms of style and condition in Vine City is enormous.

While I understand where the answers are coming from that have responded to this point, anyone truly familiar with Vine City (I've sold numerous houses in Vine City & Historic West End and taught at one of the schools in the neighborhood for 6 years prior to entering real estate) would know that the sales in that area are currently ranging from $5,000 + up. There was massive mortgage fraud in the area during the boom and the numerous abandoned and foreclosed homes have been a challenge for community members in terms of safety issues & greatly depreciating the value of homes in the area.

There are "new" construction 2 story Charleston style homes that have recently sold (within the last 3 months) for $40,000 - $70,000 as foreclosures that are 3/2.5's and 4/2.5's. Most have had to go with cash sales because numerous lending institutions have been troubled by the recent comps & activity and wouldn't finance the sale. There are active listings far higher than this range, yet that's what they are "asking" not necessarily what they are going to ever receive. The activity in the FMLS & GAMLS don't cover all of the transactions since there have been a number of auctions conducted in the area, so it is necessary to check the Fulton County Tax Records as well.

It's also important to know why you got the appraisal (refi, initial purchase, just for perspective) b/c that may impact how the appraisal is conducted. In addition, where is the appraiser from? Do they truly know the local area? There are some wonderful appraisers out there, yet with the HVCC I've had appraisers coming from an hour outside of Atlanta who've never conducted an appraisal in different parts of the city - literally not knowing the difference between Buckhead and Bankhead until they arrive to the property.

Just as much as the appraiser probably didn't just throw out a figure regarding the value of your home without doing extensive research, comparing recent sales, evaluating your market conditions and spending 4-6 hours of time to determine your fair market value, it would be ridiculous for anyone to comment on the accuracy of your appraisal without doing at least that much work and there is just not enough information here to remotely accomplish that task.

Do not forget as important as an appraisal is it does not address the true condition of the home. A home inspection is the only way to guage the home's condition.

Without seeing the property and doing a comprehensive CMA, I cannot tell you if $96,500 is a good value or bad value.

In today's market, you cannot go by 'gut-feel'...or the appraisal you had performed last year...or the 'appraisal' performed two months ago for an equity line.

Our office is in Virginia Highland and we will help you if you desire.

The real question is . . . do you? How does the home compare to neighboring properties in quality, size, condition, amenities, lot size, etc. Who ordered or selected the appraiser? If the appraiser is licensed and certified, and attached his/her signature, they must be confident it's "fair" and no one can give you an estimate of value without doing a thorough inspection of the property and the area, as well as researching recent sales, which the appraiser apparently has done. Again, the real question is . . . DO YOU, think it's fair?