My ARV comp pulled from a sale that closed 11 months ago and the appraiser had no obligation to use it

I ran the refinance on a duplex in Akron, targeting $187,000 ARV based on a comp at $191,000 that sold in April 2023. By the time the appraisal came in, March 2024, that sale had aged out of the 12-month window most appraisers work inside. The appraiser used two comps I had never seen, both smaller, both on the east side of the same zip code, and came back at $163,000. That is a $24,000 gap. I had modeled a 75% LTV refi at $140,250. I got offered $122,250 instead. The $18,000 difference stayed in the deal and I had no clean path to pull it. What I did not do before closing the buy was ask myself what the appraiser would actually be allowed to use at the moment of the refi appointment, which is a different question from what the market looks like today. The comp I built my whole model around was already 8 months old when I bought the property. Four months of rehab made it 12 months old at appraisal time, which put it right at the edge, and the appraiser made the call I should have anticipated. I now run two ARV numbers, one using only comps under 6 months, and one using whatever I can find. If those two numbers are more than 8% apart I want to know that before I wire the earnest money.