real estate apppriasers, loan offers help

look 171 · 11-27-2012, 08:06 PM

Why do appraisers want to play god? I had the appraiser from hell. Trying to refi my home two months ago, after talking with the loan officer, we both think we will have no issues at all. A few houses down the street, a 2 bed 1 bath home sold for 622,000 with very little yard space 3 months ago. We have a lot more then 10 times their overall yard space, and its a 4 bed 2 bath home. All we owe is $103,000.00. It should be a no brainer for our bank. We have all of our accounts including our business accounts with them. The appraiser come out once and my wife was home. He climbed up the roof and dinged us on a cover porch/patio leak. He went up there due to some water stain on the under side of the patio (screened in). The bank now will not refi on it because of his goddamn report. This roof covering has one of those ugly alum. patio / sunroom like roof with wooden screens around to keep the bugs out when we have dinner out sometimes (its going to get ripped out as soon as I have some time). I got it fixed with some flashing to keep the dripping water out and had my workman write out a receipt for the repair. THis bastard came out and demanded to go up to the roof and take pictures, copy of receipt, and said, it isn't fix. He said, "Get it professional done with tar. How do I know its not leaking and its really fixed"? This is not living sq footage. Its outside. I pleaded with him to not send in the pics and the report because it will screw us up, plus its isn't in the living sq footage. He walked away, and got into his little BMW and starts to drive off. I kept walking toward his car as he continue to back down the hill refusing to stop. finally he hit his brakes and rolled down the window. I asked him for his card, but he said, "I ran out" and drove off.

I am so pissed. NOw, it isn't a huge saving, but $240 difference a month. That isn't the point. What do they have to gain from all this? Nothing? They already gotten pay for coming out, so what gives? I am so pissed and have actually thought about talking to a lawyer so he can rip his balls off this fooker. What an ass hole.

My friend's got this crack on her landing right outside the entry door. Her appraiser call it out on the report as crack and damaged foundation. these freaking people have no idea what they are talking about but stop the earth from turning.

Dantilla · 11-27-2012, 08:27 PM

He won't last long as an appraiser. Kills the deal for the lender, too. Lender will quit using him.

rrental · rrental's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dantilla

He won't last long as an appraiser. Kills the deal for the lender, too. Lender will quit using him.

+1

Go up the ladder, talk to your lender and tell him you have to pull all your accounts because you don't want to work with "their" unprofessional people. If you have a good record and history (and it seems like that) you might be surprised about the outcome.

I feel your frustration. Good luck.

look 171 · 11-27-2012, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dantilla

He won't last long as an appraiser. Kills the deal for the lender, too. Lender will quit using him.

lenders do not get to choose any longer.

Why do these always appraise homes below actual value? what the F do they have to gain? I don't get it?

look 171 · 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrental

+1

Go up the ladder, talk to your lender and tell him you have to pull all your accounts because you don't want to work with "their" unprofessional people. If you have a good record and history (and it seems like that) you might be surprised about the outcome.

I feel your frustration. Good luck.

That was my next step this Friday. The loan officer and I are waiting for his report.

ckelly78z · 11-28-2012, 04:34 AM

Banks don't want to make loans anymore and will find any reason not to due to the mess they created 5 years ago with thier own loose lending practices. My wife sees this all the time with her job as financial officer for a manufactured home builder/sales. They will drag thier feet demanding new copies of paperwork that they already have been sent twice just to delay a loan a bit longer.

Banks nowadays rely on stiff fees for every imaginable reason to thier long standing account holders, and used car loans/credit cards.

drcoastline · 11-28-2012, 04:56 AM

The Real Estate market is in turmoil since 2008. All the reasons above are true. But also, in many instances the appraisers have been held liable for not disclosing and for over inflating the value. In my market there is a multi-million dollar mortgae fraud case involving the developers, atorneys, realtors, straw buyers and appraisers.

Then again he may be on a power trip.

ossiblue · 11-28-2012, 06:32 AM

We also refied recently and under similar conditions as you--bank had our mortgage, all accounts, high home value relative to amount owed, and in So. Cal. Appraisal was done as a "drive by" I think because no one ever came out. What I don't understand about your issue is why the bank balked. I assume you were refinancing only the outstanding balance. If the appraiser down rated your home, it's still much higher in value than the refi amount. I suspect the lender didn't want to lend for some reason.

Given your history with the bank, I don't see how an appraisers report would kill such a deal--unless it was to refi for the appraised amount. The defect he reported is not something that makes the house uninhabitable or significantly devalues it.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

There's more to this story than we're hearing. If you're trying to refi into a specific loan program like Fannie or Freddie, they probably have some guidelines on looming repairs found in an appraisal. And that'd be regardless of loan to value. If the bank has their own in-house portfolio, they might make an exception for you. But you need to find out who's calling the shots before threatening to pull your business.

Banks don't get to choose appraisers anymore and that can be a good thing. My current house was a short sale and the appraiser brought it in at $14k below our accepted offer. Think that would have happened if the bank had chosen the appraiser? Not bloody likely. So, because of the appraisal, the bank dropped the price $14k on the spot. Sellers didn't care, since they had stopped making payments and moved out a year earlier. Saved us a nice chunk of change.

Back in the day I played one appraiser off against another once or twice to get the deal done. They were small purchase deals, so no real opportunity for harm. But that kind of shenanigans can make a real mess of the market in a bubble.

look 171 · 11-28-2012, 08:17 AM

This bank does not have my original loan. This is the bank I do business with all the time. My loan was with B of A. I refi a couple of years back on $107,000 for 4.8% with B of A. They did not even come out to see the house. Ispoke to their loan officer once, then I sign papers at the end. Piece of cake. I am doing this with B of the West because their rate is smoking low at 3.4%. thinking at that amount, its stupid for the bank to play games. I am only interested on what's owe on it.

I think this guy has a chip on his shoulder. What does he gain from this? I fail to understand.

Anyone know why they always appraise homes lower then what its worth? That killed a couple of deals for us as sellers in the past couple of years. Buyer's offer is near the top of the marker value, but the appraise don't think so. the difference is simple, down the hill with no view vs a view home but that kind of things are not taken into account by these dumb asses.

biosurfer1 · 11-28-2012, 08:24 AM

There are still shenanigans every day in the appraisal world. My parents are in the process of buying a house right now and the appraiser came out, walked around the house for less than 5 minutes. My dad noticed the guy had left and asked the agent if that was it and she didn't know so she called him and he said said yep, that was all he needed.

The appraisal came back exactly $1,000 higher than the contract amount... coincidence? Please

You also have the other end of spectrum with guys like the OP is dealing with...they will nit pick every detail because they will charge $100 to come back out and re-inspect.

Someone always has too much power

BReif61 · 11-28-2012, 08:37 AM

My one and only experience with an appraiser worked out well for me. My house was appraised before the sellers had the already scheduled roof replacement done; resultant appraisal was $12k under contract price. With that great of a difference, my realtor and I decided that the seller drops the price or we walk.

Been living there ever since.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Most of an appraiser's work is done on the computer. Visiting the property is just to make sure the house matches the tax records and to check on condition. Plenty of properties are sold as teardowns too. Can you imagine getting a loan on a house that didn't exist because the appraiser didn't even do a drive-by? It has happened. The appraiser has a copy of the sales contract before he does the appraisal because he has to run comps on the computer. There's a mathematical formula as to how they reach their final value and it's pretty well documented between tax record, recent sales in the area, comps, etc. They don't just throw a number out there based on the contract price. Rest assured, if they're ever accused of wrongdoing, they need to show exactly how they arrived at that value, so it's all in the report.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by BReif61

With that great of a difference, my realtor and I decided that the seller drops the price or we walk.

The lender would have decided that for you, if you were financing the house.

ossiblue · 11-28-2012, 09:37 AM

Since you're refinancing only the outstanding amount, I'm thinking it has something to do with what Rick posted--Fed requirements on pending repairs. It seems you could argue the point as the repair has been made and it's not a part of the living area of the structure. Yes, the appraiser appears to be an ass but most of this is now being done with computer programs and a red flag is a red flag. If this is all that's hanging-up the refi, maybe bite the bullet, call out a roofer and have him fix and verify the patch, in writing.

BReif61 · 11-28-2012, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

The lender would have decided that for you, if you were financing the house.

Oh, for sure. I certainly wasn't going to pull that much cash out of my a** for closing.

look 171 · 12-03-2012, 11:31 AM

Ok, here's an update. We did not get the refi approved due to this numb nut's report. The loan officer suggest that we pay for an extension and try again. You would think my bank wants to make money? 100k on a 6-700k home.

Tell me this, can I not allow the appraiser to go up to my roof based on reasons due to insurance or damage to my property? I think this is personal now. I am so pissed that I am thinking about legal action against him. On his report, he says he's not an expert on roofing, but it does not seem like any works been done to it. I had someone install a flashing to keep the water away along with a receipt. What do you guys think?

ossiblue · 12-03-2012, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by look 171

Ok, here's an update. We did not get the refi approved due to this numb nut's report. The loan officer suggest that we pay for an extension and try again. You would think my bank wants to make money? 100k on a 6-700k home.

Tell me this, can I not allow the appraiser to go up to my roof based on reasons due to insurance or damage to my property? I think this is personal now. I am so pissed that I am thinking about legal action against him. On his report, he says he's not an expert on roofing, but it does not seem like any works been done to it. I had someone install a flashing to keep the water away along with a receipt. What do you guys think?

Is this the only thing in the appraisal that caused your home to be rejected? If so, it is based on a lay opinion (the appraiser's) that a repair had not been made . Your receipt from a handyman may be too general. If the appraiser balked because he could not determine a repair, and he admits he is no expert on roof repair, then simply call a roofer out, have him evaluate/make the repair, and put it in writing. Present that to the bank and go from there.

tevake · 12-03-2012, 12:13 PM

Wasting a lot of energy on this guy is not going to move your Refi forward.
Take a deep breath, get the small roof repair done. Then try again. The luck of the draw will probably bring you another appraiser the next time and a smoother ride thru the process.

The banks are supposed to be cleaning up the issues with too easy loans that lead to many defaults before. I guess this is part of the process, that said this guy that you have been dealing with does sound like something of a power tripper, This will most likely catch him up some time.

Cheers Richard

look 171 · 12-03-2012, 12:28 PM

The whole point of this damn roof thing is suppose to come down in the next year or two for an extension or build out. The plans are already drawn so I don't want to spend any more money then I need on it. Plus, I am a General contractor, its an easy fix and its already done, just not pretty.

What I really don't understand is how can something that isn't living space be counted in as such? I have always under the impression that they come to appraise the house and not the condition of the roof or how nice your front yard is? Appraise it for less then half then it worth, I don't care. A whole new roof isn't 400k, so I don't see how the bank would not go forward. It doesn't make sense to me. One of the other reason I want to get after this ass hole is so that he doesn't do it to someone else who really need to refi so save their house. Damnit.