Appraisal Mistakes: What Do You Do?

Appraisal Mistakes: What Do You Do?

When you review your appraisal, either for your purchase or a refinance, you will notice on the front of the report the lender’s name as “Prepared For…” and not yours. What’s this? Didn’t you pay for an appraisal? Yes, you probably did, but the appraisal belongs to the lender, not you. You are entitled to a copy of the report but the lender uses it during the loan approval process.

Sometimes the appraised value doesn’t come in as expected. Sometimes the value comes in much lower than what you had anticipated. When this happens, low values can slow down the approval process or kill a deal in its entirety. But what if your value comes in low and there’s a blatant error. What do you do?

In the past, you’d call your lender or loan officer and point out the mistake. After all, the appraisal belongs to the lender and they ordered it, right? Sort of. Yes, the lender orders the appraisal but not directly with the appraiser. The lender orders an appraisal through a third party appraisal ordering service. Lenders’ aren’t allowed to speak directly with the appraiser to avoid any appearance of influence.

For example, you have a beautiful view of the rolling hills in your backyard and your property line is adjacent to a greenbelt. Yet the appraiser made no mention of the greenbelt or your view and the other properties used for valuation had neither. Such a superior location and view will certainly add to a property’s value. Without this adjustment your appraised value is reduced by $30,000…an amount you absolutely must have in order to complete your refinance.

While lenders cannot contact an appraiser a lender can in fact speak with the appraiser to point out mistakes. Most lenders however won’t make direct contact with the appraiser for fear of being fined or cited by regulatory agencies. Instead, the lender will forward your information to the appraisal ordering service who will then contact the individual appraiser. But it is up to you to identify the mistake and bring it to your lenders attention. Write down, on paper, the error(s) you noted and wait for the results. Don’t let a mistake hold things up…take charge.