STL Home Buyer Journey
George Kindler
13 Years Of Real Estate Experience At Your Fingertips
Last updated October 21, 2026
A low appraisal doesn’t end a deal, but it does force a decision about who covers the difference. Here’s what it costs in cash, where it happens in St. Louis, what the contract lets each side do, and what happened when one of my listings appraised low.
The lender lends on the lower of the price and the appraised value, so the difference has to come from somewhere: a price reduction, the buyer’s cash, a split, or the end of the contract. Which of those is on the table depends on whether the buyer’s contract has appraisal protection. The buyer’s options ↓
Nobody automatically. If the buyer has an appraisal contingency, the gap gets negotiated. If they don’t, the buyer covers it or risks the earnest money by walking away. On a $300,000 price that appraises at $285,000, a buyer putting 3% down needs about $14,550 more cash. The math ↓
Yes, through the lender, with a request called a reconsideration of value. Bring verified prices on pending sales and the homes actually competing today. It succeeds occasionally. In my experience there’s little recourse even when an appraiser gets it wrong, so build your case before you count on it. How to challenge it ↓
Not automatically. First check whether the buyer even has the right to ask: on a St. Louis contract, appraisal protection comes from an appraisal rider, and without one a low appraisal doesn’t open the price back up. Then read the appraisal for errors. The seller’s options ↓
Only if your contract gives you the right: an appraisal rider, or the amendatory clause that comes with an FHA loan or the escape clause with a VA loan. Without one, walking away puts your earnest money at risk. Should you waive appraisal protection? →
Sources: 2,865 St. Louis County MLS sales in 2026; George Kindler’s listings, including 5021 Galena (2025); HUD and VA appraisal requirements. Contract terms vary, and the riders and dates in your contract control.
More than most buyers expect, because the down payment is figured on the appraised value and the gap comes on top of it. Here’s a $300,000 price that appraises at $285,000:
| $300,000 price, $285,000 appraisal | 3% down | 20% down |
|---|---|---|
| Cash planned at $300,000 | $9,000 | $60,000 |
| Largest loan at $285,000 | $276,450 | $228,000 |
| Cash needed to close at $300,000 | $23,550 | $72,000 |
| Extra cash the low appraisal costs | $14,550 | $12,000 |
Down payment only; closing costs come on top. That’s why I tell buyers to decide before they write an offer how much of a gap they could cover, if any. Appraisal gap guarantees →
The risk is highest on houses that sell fast and over list, because the appraiser has to find closed sales that support a price the market just set. In 2,865 St. Louis County sales in 2026, the homes that went under contract in their first four days sold for a median 104.0% of the original list price, and 78.7% of them sold above it.
| Days on market | Sales | Median sale vs. list | Sold above list |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 days | 990 | 104.0% | 78.7% |
| 5–7 days | 319 | 102.0% | 61.1% |
| 8–14 days | 277 | 100.0% | 31.4% |
| 15+ days | 1,276 | Below list | 5–27% |
These are sale prices, not appraisal results, so they show where the pressure is, not how often appraisals come in low. A first-weekend house with multiple offers is where an appraisal gap is most likely to matter. The full days-on-market table →
If your contract has appraisal protection, you have four moves. Without it, you have one: cover the difference and close.
The clock is short. Once a low appraisal is delivered under an appraisal rider, the seller has 5 days to negotiate, and the buyer then has 2 days to accept or walk away.
The appraisal also has to come back before your loan deadline, or that protection can run out on its own. I push lenders to order it within three days of acceptance. Your deadlines after an accepted offer →
Start before the appraisal. On my listings, when the value matters, I give the appraiser the comparable sales that support the price. After a low appraisal, start with the contract, not the appraisal. On a St. Louis contract, a buyer’s right to renegotiate over value comes from an appraisal rider. If there isn’t one, a low appraisal is the buyer’s problem to solve, and an amendment asking you to lower the price has nothing behind it.
A price cut also reopens what was already settled. To bring the price down to the appraisal, everything negotiated before it can come back to the table, such as inspection credits and repairs. That has been my approach on low appraisals: the price, the credits and the repairs get negotiated together, not one at a time.
The seller usually sees the appraisal only because the buyer’s side sends it. When it arrives with a request attached, the first question is whether the contract gives them the right to ask.
On 5021 Galena, a listing I sold in 2025, my sellers had four offers, one of them a lowball investor offer. Two were nearly identical conventional offers, $1,000 apart. The higher one, with 20% down, came with an appraisal rider and the right to send an inspection notice. I told that buyer’s agent we were getting ready to accept virtually the same offer, their escalation only made theirs $1,000 better, and the other buyers were here first. They removed the appraisal rider and the inspection notice. That made it the best offer on paper, netting my sellers more and reducing their risk. We accepted it before the buyer’s pre-approval letter came in, and I told my sellers that was the risk when we reviewed it. How the offers played out →
The appraisal came in low, and the buyer’s agent sent it to me with an amendment. I asked why: the contract didn’t give her buyer that option. Before going any deeper, I asked whether her client planned to terminate and forfeit the earnest money. In a negotiation, setting the anchor is leverage. My sellers were longtime friends on vacation, and I wanted a solution before I called them with an update.
The same day, the agent agreed they couldn’t ask for a reduction. But the loan had been run as FHA, not the conventional loan in the contract, and the appraisal came with repair conditions. The buyers had the cash, their son did the repairs, and it closed at the contract price of $271,000.
Through the lender, with facts the appraiser missed. A new appraisal is ordered by the lender, not the agent, and the appraiser rarely moves without new evidence. On Galena I found three problems and challenged every one in writing:
He didn’t change the value, or the condition items: a trip hazard outside any walking path and an unattached downspout, minor items I considered an overreach. In my experience, even when an appraiser doesn’t follow USPAP, the appraisal standards, there’s virtually no recourse. Challenge it when the comps support you, but plan as if the number will stand.
An FHA appraiser checks condition as well as value, so a low FHA appraisal can bring repairs along with a lower number. FHA loans also require an amendatory clause that lets the buyer out without losing the earnest money if the value comes in below the price. That’s why the financing type written in the contract matters: Galena’s contract said conventional, and the FHA conditions surfaced only after the appraisal. FHA vs. conventional →
VA appraisals have their own process for low values and repair conditions. VA Appraisal Failed? What Happens Next → →Value
Not necessarily. An appraisal is built mostly from closed sales, so in a fast market it can trail what buyers are paying now. It does mean the lender won’t finance the difference, and that you’d need the market to keep rising to sell for the same price soon.
The price doesn’t change. The lender still lends on the lower of the price and the appraised value, so the buyer starts with more equity on paper, and the seller can’t ask for more.
The seller’s side
Not automatically. The appraisal is ordered by the buyer’s lender, and the seller usually sees it only when the buyer’s side shares it, often with a request to renegotiate. What a seller can do ↑
This is one piece of the St. Louis home buying process. See how it all fits together:
📚 Complete St. Louis Buyer Guide →
Grew up in South St. Louis, lived in Dogtown for 6 years, now in South County. You'll find us at Wellspring on Lindbergh on Sundays. I'm not selling you a house — I'm showing you how to think about buying or selling a house.
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