Appraisal Solution Blog

As appraisers we all know, underwriters, banks, and reviewers are watching our every move and rightfully so, but will your appraisal stand up to their scrunity? Are we doing what it takes to give them the confidence they need to ensure a proper collateral decision is made? Or does this scenario describe a past or recent encounter with the bank regarding your submitted appraisal?

1) Underwriting has cut the appraised value due use of 6 month old sales, now seen as dated?

2) Lack of current market data analysis leads bank or other review with little or no confidence in your appraisal?

3) Short sales and/or REO sales are driving the market without appraiser knowledge on how to determine this in the appraisal.

If your appraiser has not taken steps to understand this market, or has not done his/her due diligence on the appraisal, you could end up with an unsupported value or declined appraisal.

Ask the appraisal professional you hire what steps he/she is taking to ensure the appraisal they are hired to complete is comprehensive, complete and gives the bank etc. a feeling of confidence in his/her work. This will ensure your deal is not held up due to lack of appraiser knowledge.

A vendor client of mine recently explained that the reason my office is not receiving more volume of work from them is that my fees are higher than the other area appraisers. "Really?" I stated, "How much higher" to which he sent me a spreadsheet showing the appraiser with the lowest fee was at $170 per appraisal. These are So. Cal appraisers doing 24 hour turn time for $170 per 1004. Seems quite low to me. Then I began wondering....is the quality lower for those $170 deals? Do we as an industry feel it necessary to go that low if we are doing quality work? Are we really worth what we are charging? I am truly interested in hearing from other appraisers who might come across this. Any respectful comments would be appreciated.