Calling all mortgage lenders! In the new world of appraisals - in which you are no longer allowed to actually speak to the appraiser - what is the procedure for challenging erroneous information or erroneous values?
As if mortgage lending wasn't crazy enough in today's market, here we are dealing with another flawed law to address lenders and appraisers who "conspired" to inflate values. Loan officers and their managers are no longer allowed to have direct contact with appraisers in order to prevent any "undue influence" on the appraised value. While protecting consumers is unquestionably important, the question of the day is what is the procedure to challenge a clearly erroneous appraisal - erroneous in the information or the market value? Let me provide a recent example:
A property was on the market for less than 10 days and received multiple offers. Multiple, multiple offers. The lowest offer was $725k and the highest offer was $750k. The lender for the accepted buyer ordered the appraisal through their centralized appraisal system as required. The appraised value of the property per the out-of-area appraiser was $600k. Seriously, if you were an idiot and did nothing but search the MLS by square footage, bedroom and bathroom count - completely ignoring location and amenities - it would be impossible to derive a value less than $715k. When the lender was contacted, the response was, "We're sorry and terribly frustrated too."
What is the procedure allowed by the current law to challenge inaccurate appraisals?

Wendy Cutrufelli, Your Real Estate Advocate






These positions on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent Alain Pinel Realtors' positions, strategies or opinions.
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