Thursday I received an urgent call from a lender.  They needed a rush review appraisal that needed to be completed by the following morning. 

It seemed pretty cut and dry, but I was perplexed by the original appraiser's comparable properties, which were up to 3 1/2 miles from the subject property.  As I researched the property further, I realized this might be valid as the subject had a river view in an area where river views were hard to come by unless the property was directly on the river.

By noon I had reached the property and I just shook my head as I pulled up.  The property did in fact have a river view, but you had to look under the freeway to see it.  The property's back yard literally abutted a freeway off ramp.  Perhaps I missed this very relevant information in the original appraisal.  I traveled the properties that were used as comparable properties in the original report as well as some sales that I had pulled up.  I went back to review the appraisal more carefully.  Yes, it did mention traffic noise, but did not really encompass the impact of a freeway off ramp in the subject's back yard. 

I continued with the review, added the more appropriate comparable properties in the subject's neighborhood adjusted values accordingly and reduced the opinion of value by about a fourth of the original appraisal's report.  The appraisal review was submitted to the lender that evening as promised.

The next morning I opened my email to find two ‘cancel' notices for the appraisal review as well as a voice mail reiterating the cancellation.  I responded to both emails and the voice mail stating the report had already been submitted.  The lender said that the reason for the cancellation was that the appraiser reviewer that was originally asked to complete the report was not responding to their contacts, but apparently he had sent in his own appraisal review the following evening.  It did not seem that anyone had actually opened my appraisal review report to see the outcome, but I have my suspicions that perhaps they had and were none too happy with the decrease in value.  I wonder what the other review appraiser came up with.  I will likely never know the final value that the lender will go with.