[lotsofpulp]

I don’t know what “under employed real estate agents” means, but the appraiser that the lender cares about is in no way associated with the real estate agents. The lender picks the appraiser (a licensed professional usually working as an independent contractor) who submits a report to the lender, who then determines whether or not they want to use it.

Asking price also has nothing to do with market value, so offering $200k more over asking would be irrelevant to the appraiser. You should have received a report showing recently sold houses similar to the one you were buying and other physical features that justified the appraisal.

There is even an appraisal contingency in most purchase agreements that outline what to do if an appraisal comes in lower than what a buyer offers to pays. Typically, the buyer can exit the purchase and get their earnest money back, or they can put additional money down to cover the gap between the appraisal and the offer price.