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I know the appraisers on here rock and I don't want offend them with this topic. I am selling my house and I am pretty sure the appraiser never showed up today as my husband never left the neighborhood.... never saw a car and the guy didn't leave a card. He called me and asked me to send him a copy of the contract. We have a lot of photos on the MLS so I think the guy is just going off those. My father mentioned that sometimes appraisers don't actually come out to homes in "remote" areas when they can get photos. How often do ya think this actually happens? How bad is it? Personally, I don't care as long as the guy justifies my price to my buyers bank...
Well, for starters there are SEVERAL types of standard accepted appraisals that DO NOT require the appraiser to enter the property. The least 'travel' is an electronic appraisal that does not even require that the property is physically verified in any way.
Field appraisals range from a drive by, to a walk around to the actual walk through. Time was that ALL appraisal companies would have FRESH photographs to go along with ALL appraisals, but since one could fake those too in this age of Photoshop, nobody reall REQUIRES these either. Maybe lenders will have some sort of "notarized appraisal" where the appraiser would have to stop a local cop and have them included in a photo or something, but some how I think mayors like Daley would end up billing appraisal companies MILLIONS in cop overtime
I do not worry too much about any of these commonly accepted standard types, as the fact is that COMPS that are used to determine value are SIMILARLY NOT gone through by the appraiser. Seriously, would YOU allow some crazed appraiser to wander through YOUR recently purchased home so that SOME OTHER lender would have a better understanding of values in YOUR neighborhood?
Granted, in a better world, appraisers would invest at least much time actually inspecting a home as the CarMax people do when looking at a trade-in vehicle, but that is NOT what lenders demand so that is NOT what will happen...
For an actual appraisal the appraisers are required to drive-by the comps and enter the property. That is a regular appraisal. Then there is a "desktop" appraisal where they do what it sounds like what this appraiser is doing on your house. They don't actually visit the property, but run the comps from the office.
Last edited by Silverfall; 05-28-2009 at 10:04 PM..
Reason: typo
They can appraise your house without actually going to it? Wow, that sounds terrible.. Good luck, hopefully it is appraised for what you want it to be!
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, USDA, Ginnie Mae, Farmer Mac, etc etc etc REQUIRE any appraisal submitted to them have the subject and the comparables be viewed from at least the street. this is part of the scope of work required by those agencies. MLS photos MAY be used if the comparable no longer exists, if the house is too distant from the road, or when other conditions (like a snow bank) prevents the user of the report from seeing the comparable and understanding it's condition.
From the Fannie Mae Announcement 08-30:
Quote:
Selling Guide, Part XI, Section 101.03: Use of Supervisory or Review Appraisers
Fannie Mae defines the appraiser as the individual who personally inspected the property being appraised, inspected the exterior of the comparables, performed the analysis, and prepared and signed the appraisal report as the appraiser. Fannie Mae allows an unlicensed or uncertified appraiser who works as an employee or subcontractor of a licensed or certified appraiser to perform a significant amount of the appraisal (or the entire appraisal if he or she is qualified to do so)—as long as the appraisal report is signed by a licensed or certified supervisory or review appraiser and is acceptable under state law. This policy is updated to now require that if a supervisory appraiser signs the appraisal report as the appraiser, the supervisory appraiser must have performed the inspection of the subject property.
Hmmm interesting. I wish he would have just let me know that was his plan and I wouldn't have spent hours cleaning! Why did that appraiser get all nuts on me last week because the time he requested didn't work for me? Perplexed I am....
I once had an appraiser do a drive-by and then handle it from his desk. Unfortunately he drove by the wrong building. Attempt two was the wrong unit. I know this because the photos were wrong as was the description- my unit was in fairly crappy shape but had and excellent view and in a better spot in the complex. I called the mortgage company and the guy who handled my loan just said not to worry- I had purchased in a good area, yada, yada, yada.
Needless to say I'm not so keen on anything Bank of America ever wants to handle again.
1. a 1004 aka URAR - this is an appraisal where the Subject is measured and an interior/exterior "ispection" is done (not to be confused with a home inspection).
2. a 2055 aka as a "drive by" - this is an appraisal that requires the same research and market analysis as a URAR/1004 but does not require a measurement or interior inspection.
These are the main types of appraisals used for mortgage purposes, be it purchase or refinance. The lender (client) determines which report they need, not the appraiser. However, the appraiser may recommend an upgrade to a 1004 under certain circumstances.
I once had an appraiser do a drive-by and then handle it from his desk. Unfortunately he drove by the wrong building. Attempt two was the wrong unit. I know this because the photos were wrong as was the description- my unit was in fairly crappy shape but had and excellent view and in a better spot in the complex. I called the mortgage company and the guy who handled my loan just said not to worry- I had purchased in a good area, yada, yada, yada.
Needless to say I'm not so keen on anything Bank of America ever wants to handle again.
Several lenders utilize a pool of appraisers that will accept bottom fees. I would not want my house to be appraised by one of those either.
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How bad is it? Personally, I don't care as long as the guy justifies my price to my buyers bank...
