New Appraisal Nightmare???

The article below was published in the Everett Herald, Sunday, June 21, 2009.  Yes, the new appraisal rules can be challenging.. but just like everything else, I have no doubt this will eventually work itself out.  For those buyers who are trying to buy now with a Conventional Loan.. hang in there. 

New rules create an appraisal nightmare
By Steve Tytler

Question: We read your column last week about the person who was having trouble getting a copy of his appraisal. We are refinancing and we have a slightly different problem with an appraisal. We locked a loan with a mortgage company a month ago to take advantage of the low interest rates. It has now been almost a month and the mortgage company says they still don't have the appraisal back. We are about to lose the 4.375 percent interest rate we had locked in because our lock is about to expire and they can't close the loan without the appraisal. Now that mortgage rates have gone up, we may never get a chance for that low rate again. We are very upset and we complained to our loan officer and he says there is nothing they can do about it because of some new law that makes it illegal for him to talk to the appraiser. That sounds crazy to me. Is there really such a law, and why would they make it illegal to talk to the appraiser? We are going to lose our mortgage rate because the appraiser didn't do his job on time.

Answer: The mortgage industry is in a state of chaos because of the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct on May 1st by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The valuation code prevents mortgage loan officers from having any contact with appraisers. Mortgage companies must now use an independent third-party firm called an "appraisal management company" to order their appraisals...

... Mail your real estate questions to Steve Tytler, The Herald, P.O. Box, Everett, WA 98206, or e-mail him ateconomy@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA

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