Consumers, Realtors, Lenders ...Everyone wants to believe that a appraisal is the protection offered a borrower...a guarantee...a certification...the reality of what a property is REALLY worth...isn't it ? Isn't it...that the hundreds of dollars that a buyer pays...really the studied document that clearly shows that when compared to other properties in the immediate area...that are similar...or have been adjusted for their differences..it IS the Holy Grail of lending..the Borrower's "guaranty" that they got what they paid for...or in some cases...MORE than they paid for...that is the value of an appraisal.
Appraisers are given the offer....they know what the buyer offered the Seller...they know how much the Buyer will finance and how much they put down in cash...and easily determine the "risk ratio" of the bank. Gone ...for the most part are the days of No Money Down...Ironic that the government and the rural based government lending program, is a no money down program (USDA) that still give me goose bumps...and not in a good way.
You hear an echo of complaints about appraisals....the pendulum swings both ways....seemingly without merit. That is, the appraisal fits the property....because looking long enough, hard enough, far enough, old enough....a property DID really sell for $X....and whew(!) now the bank gets the loan. An appraisal is supposed to be protection....for the borrower...the assurance/insurance of property value and not a creative comparison tailored to meet the numbers presented in the offer.
What is the remedy ? Should appraisers not be given the PRICE offered/negotiated and only the inclusions and description which may include things not easily seen ? Would that change or increase the professional objectivity ? Vote now with your comments. Not likely that one blog voice will change the system...one candle does break the curse of the darkness....every change starts somewhere. Amen and Women.
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