Without knowing all the circumstances I probably would report.  If they are doing this to you who is knowledgable what is happening to the general public.

I am not sure I would report him as you need to act in the best interest of your client which would be to close escrow.  Get the deal done then go after him.  I would call the lender and the appraiser's boss.  If he is self employed try to talk to him about it.  Let him know you will spread the word he kills deals.

Thomas - I think it's quite common to have appraisals come in under the true comparable value of a home.  It's also not uncommon to challenge the appraisal and ask for a new one.  The second one always seems to be more accurate.  I also tell my buyers (or sellers) that it may happen and not to panic.  If I did my job doing the comps in the first place, I am confident the appraisal will be correct in the end.  I wouldn't report them to anyone - just challenge it.

What was the purpose of the appraisal? If you were looking for a home equity line of credit and the appraisal didn't need to establish a higher value then does it make a difference? Don't you think it's an interesting coincidence that most purchase appraisals come in at asking price?

I would obtain a second appraisal. You also have the right to inquire with the appraiser as to how they obtained their comps and was there a reason others were not used.

I had to have a second appraisal done for a foreclosed property I have listed. The first one appeared to be for value, but was way off the mark with the actual heated square footage, which is in the public record as well and not used. The second one was to also have been for value subject to adding the additional square footage back, but was more on the line of subject to certain other correctable conditions.

Remember, no matter what the reason for the appraisal or the type (financing, re-fi, value to sell, subject to, etc), you always have the right to seek answers to your questions from the appraiser. And if all else fails, get the second one done.

I would not report the appraiser.

Just to let you guys know.  There have been 4 houses sold within the last two months with values averaging $150+ per SF.  At this rate our house would appraise at $254,000 and we have massively improved the kitchen, added wood flooring, improved the landscaping and so forth.  The actual average was about $170 per SF or so for the last two months.

There was a house that sold in July that had only 1412 SF (ours has 1694 SF) and that house had no pool and no pool screen enclosure.  That house sold for $217.000.

A simple search of the publicly available records would have shown these things (all within our neighborhood); yet he was willing to say that our house would only appraise at $200,000 under current circumstances. 

BTW, I have been a Real Estate Salesperson and I have worked steadily with appraisers for many years.  My wife has recently obtained her Real Estate Salesperson license and I intend on re-obtaining my own.

Doesn't it seem odd that someone would issue and opinion, knowing who I am and what I do (Professional Engineer) without even checking the public records?

I am the President of McKeon Engineering & Associates, LLC http://www.mckeonengineering.com/ ...please visit our site as well. If you would like to see more engineering problems, please visit http://www.engineertrades.com/ which is a forum for engineers to prepare for the Professional Engineering (PE) exam.

When did the comparables that you found close?  Perhaps you were using older comps?  An appraiser has specific guidelines to follow that you may not be aware of. 

Comps were from two months ago to six months ago.  Check out http://paraster.ocpafl.org/salesreport/default.aspx?cmd=SELECTSALES&selX=519045.57&selY=1506285.5 If it doesn't show, please email me at tmckeon_PE@mckeonengineering.com and let me know, I can give you directions on how to see it and give you screen shots.

I am the President of McKeon Engineering & Associates, LLC http://www.mckeonengineering.com/ ...please visit our site as well. If you would like to see more engineering problems, please visit http://www.engineertrades.com/ which is a forum for engineers to prepare for the Professional Engineering (PE) exam.