Lee, appraisers are taught to be objective, and will probably not use your list of comps. They have access to all the latest MLS data, which they pull to reach their opinion.
If your list contains private sales that the appraiser does not know about, and unless there are no other public sales to compare, your list would have little influence. Private sales are given little weight in an appraisal because the motive of both buyer and seller is not known. It becomes more difficult to determine "market value" with private sales. In addition, sales need to be a recent as possible. That generally means within the last two months, and even less time when the market is raising or falling quickly.
The appraiser`s definition of market value is "the price that a property will sell for, expressed in terms of money, when a property is left on the market long enough by a willing seller, to find a willing buyer, and where both parties know all the uses to which the property may be put." The key words here are "willing" and "know". Look at how often FSBOs try to sell their properties at greater than market value. How many FSBO buyers who buy at above MV is probably unknown.
Unfortunately, if values in your area have fallen, you probably are not going to get the appraisal you are hoping for. It happened to me recently. One of my properties in Edmonton was appraised recently (to refinance)... for $60,000 less than I put into it... 18 months earlier.
Needless to say, I did not refinance.
