Sales comparison and listing price!

[MrsBee]

OK, thank you all for the discussion, and opinions.
Let me clarify that the appraiser has used listing prices for all 3 comparables, when in reality one of the comparables was already sold but for $12,000 less(within the 6 months prior to the appraisal), and the other two were active listings. There were other townhomes, exactly same ones, but she didn't use those as comparables, which is why I got here to ask you if that is OK?
For all three she has did not state that they are listing, but in fact sales, with fictional sale dates.

I got my information from the tax/assess office of the city I live in. There are absolutely no comparable homes sold for what mine was appraised in the period of 6 months prior to the appraisal. Actually, my townhouse is the highest sale price among the same/comparable townhomes of the entire city to this date.

True, all in all, in my own calculation, she may be off, by maybe only about 7-9K, but add on that interest, PMI, and all the other stuff. Plus, if I knew the real value of the house, I wouldn't have been approved for the loan, nor would I want to buy it, and pay the difference out of pocket.

I actually remember ripping up the purchase agreement with the sellers agent due to another issue (flooring allowance), but within an hour the bank called me on my cell phone, and reduced the interest rate to sweeten the deal, and make me change my mind in buying.

Thank you, thank you!

 

[Boonders]

The using listings is extremely odd. I don't know why they would do that. And if the sale dates are made up...sounds like some crazy stuff over $7-9k in value........................

 

[Smokey Bear]

Youneed to get a review from an objective, competent appraiser. Ignore those here that are inventing scenarios that have no evidence for about your motivations at the time of the sale.

 

[MrsBee]

The using listings is extremely odd. I don't know why they would do that. And if the sale dates are made up...sounds like some crazy stuff over $7-9k in value........................

If they would have came in low, you would have likely called and chewed out the appraiser for "low balling" you... sorry, its just what happens. I can count on one finger the number of times someone has said: "thanks for saving me from the deal. You really know the market." After coming in lower than a sale price. It just doesn't happen. You would have said "i'm paying $10k less than the guy next door" lol.

I see your point Dane, but I must disagree, because usually sellers do that, not buyers. It would have been in my best interest to buy it for less, or better yet, for what it's really worth, don't you think?

I have never met the appraiser, it was appraised by the bank, and I never had a chance to know the true value to make a better decision. I had no chance to renegotiate the price. Knowing myself, and as a buyer, I think I would go back to offer less, and get the appropriate loan, not inflated one.
Thanks for posting!

 

[Boonders]

good luck. what are your plans? Sue everybody?

 

[PropertyEconomics]

MrsBee ... at this point it appears you have one of two options if you wish to pursue this further:

1) Hire an appraiser to review the appraisal you have and wait for their conclusions which you can then find the appraiser was correct in their analysis, or finding they appraisal was bad you can take the review to the the bank, to an attorney, or to the state board that issues licenses in your state.

2) Send a copy of the appraisal to the state board of appraisers with a complaint of your concerns and let them investigate.

The first opition will cost you a review fee, however, if you are concerned that you have overpaid for the home based upon a faulty appraisal it may well be worth your time and effort. If I were you I would do a little research and find who in your area specializes in appraisal review and hire them and ask them to perform a Standard 3 review of the report. After their review you will have the answers you need and can determine which action you wish to take next whether that be legal action against all of the parties, part of the parties, or you may find that the appraisal was poorly done and you can report that to your state appraisers board. Most boards will not look at appraisals if there is any pending litigation regarding the appraisal and that is something you should also know. That is how it is in my state but your state may be different.

The second option may well achieve the same thing, however, its my guess it will take much longer and you will not receive any supporting documentation from the state should you need to pursue action against anyone.

I agree with Smokey that at this point its only conjecture as to what really happened or that your assertions that the "bank owns the appraisal company" are correct. It may have been an inhouse appraiser however I personally know of no banks that own appraisal firms.

I would advise to you to become very informed and not rely a great deal upon conjecture or speculation nor necessarily the words of neighbors. If you are friendly with your neighbors you can always ask them for a copy of their HUD1 statements that everyone gets when they close a loan. It is a one to two page document that shows selling price and all fees paid as a result of your transaction. This documentation will show exactly how much they paid for their home, however, these documents are typically not publically available.
I would hire an appraiser, the best I could find, to review that report and then proceed from there. While you hold some responsibility in the decision to buy, I think the appraiser holds as much responsibility to protect the interest of the public in performing their duties. From taking your information at face value, something about this appraisal does not appear to be correct nor in compliance with the standards to which we must follow.

If the reviewer comes back to you with a report that says the original appraisal was very badly done and resulted in an inflated value, then I would counsel you to seek an attorney and ask for their advice as to how to proceed next.

I hope when you get the report reviewed you come back and tell us what the reviewer found.

 

[MrsBee]

good luck. what are your plans? Sue everybody?

I have no time for lawsuits, very rude of you to imply that that's where I am going, but when discovering errors like this, or possibly a deception(violation of many laws), you would want those people held accountable, if they don't want to fix their errors.

Also, even if my actual damage is lousy few thousands of dollars, I would like the appraiser to fix the report, so I can go to the bank, and have everything fixed. No need to sue, I am a very civil person, and as hard as it may be to believe, I think the bank will work with me, provided it was their appraiser, who works for bank owned appraisal company.

I have contacted the appraiser, who promissed to review it, and buzz me back. Which she did, and she gave me a whole lot of mumbo-jumbo of how she used the MLS listing, and that's how she found the sales prices. Guess what, one of the townhomes that was used as a comp has never been sold, since it was built.
From this forum, I just wanted to find out if she was liable to use actual sales. I have no idea what are you so bitter about.
Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with suing people, if I had to, that's why we have the justice system. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but imagine the world with no laws at all...

 

[PropertyEconomics]

I have no time for lawsuits, very rude of you to imply that that's where I am going, but when discovering errors like this, or possibly a deception(violation of many laws), you would want those people held accountable, if they don't want to fix their errors.

Also, even if my actual damage is lousy few thousands of dollars, I would like the appraiser to fix the report, so I can go to the bank, and have everything fixed. No need to sue, I am a very civil person, and as hard as it may be to believe, I think the bank will work with me, provided it was their appraiser, who works for bank owned appraisal company.

I have contacted the appraiser, who promissed to review it, and buzz me back. Which she did, and she gave me a whole lot of mumbo-jumbo of how she used the MLS listing, and that's how she found the sales prices. Guess what, one of the townhomes that was used as a comp has never been sold, since it was built.
From this forum, I just wanted to find out if she was liable to use actual sales. I have no idea what are you so bitter about.
Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with suing people, if I had to, that's why we have the justice system. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but imagine the world with no laws at all...

Unfortunately MrsBee she shouldnt even have done that. That could be a violation of confidentiality since you were not the client of the appraiser. Please heed the advice given here, get the appraisal reviewed, and then decide which way you wish to go.
You are absolutely right the justice system is there to meet out justice when someone has been harmed and you are as entitled to that as the next person is.
I wish you luck with this.

 

[Mr Rex]

Dane was obviously born with his CG license, raised by feral appraisers, and has never encountered attempts at influence by RE agents, Mortgage Brokers, or Loan Officers. Why I bet the sky in his world is blue too.

 

[MrsBee]

Thank you so much for your post! I will see what action I will take, and will definitely be back to tell about the outcome!
Maybe I shouldn't have, but I have contacted the appraiser, who still claims that she used MLS sales prices, and that's it. I don't even know what that means, and can they be different than what I have found at the tax/assess office? Would you know?Because if she is correct, of course no action needed, and I am happy, I would also apologize
I am concerened about that because one of the comps is still out here for sale, never been sold since it was built, so how could she get a sale price? Not to mention other errors, like sales dates, and stuff.
Also, only 3 out of 18 townhomes were sold, and she wrote this:"a lot of sales,some listings..."
Anyway, thank you so much for such nice, detailed post!