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FHA Septic & Well Appraiser Lawsuit

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Lets assume the appraiser sucks- it doesnt change the outcome as its a done deal. So now we are entering civil law where one has to prove the damages in a court of law. The $100K seems like a high bar but you will need multipe parties named in the law suite, normally Sellers, Realtors, Appraiser, "your-self" and what due diligence did you do ? and what did you know before the purchase ?

If you were in California I could refer you to a good real estate attorney but her first step and question is how did you suffer $100K in damages ? Where it gets problematic is until one goes to sell a property its hard to measure a $$$ loss. WHAT DO YO WANT ? or is this just a rant about a "bad Appraiser and a Bad Buyer :)
I want to be made whole as in whatever was REQUIRED to be done if the appraiser was a competent one. Myself, my realtor nor my home inspector determine minimum property requirements so there is no due diligence there. There were two options that would have been available at the time of purchase.

1. The seller would have been required to pay to update the system.
or
2. Purchase a different home and have two 1/2 years of equity today.

Let me know how you calculate 2 years of intentional refusal to order a field review to determine the property did not qualify and throw in the difference in home prices on top of interest rate hikes from 2021-2023.
 
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Lets assume the appraiser sucks- it doesnt change the outcome as its a done deal. So now we are entering civil law where one has to prove the damages in a court of law. The $100K seems like a high bar but you will need multipe parties named in the law suite, normally Sellers, Realtors, Appraiser, "your-self" and what due diligence did you do ? and what did you know before the purchase ?

If you were in California I could refer you to a good real estate attorney but her first step and question is how did you suffer $100K in damages ? Where it gets problematic is until one goes to sell a property its hard to measure a $$$ loss. WHAT DO YO WANT ? or is this just a rant about a "bad Appraiser and a Bad Buyer :)

but no need to assume,

the remedy for negligent appraisals is available for the borrower to see here

https://www.HUD.gov/sites/dfiles/OCHCO/documents/2020-31hsgmlatch.pdf

Under the category of property appraisal

FHA is unable to determine appraiser and/or underwriter compliance with applicable policies for the appraisal, collateral valuation, or property acceptability due to absence of valid documentation. FHA is able to conclude that the property was not appraised and/or underwritten in compliance with applicable policies and the appraised value is not supported or the property is not acceptable as a result. Documentation required for specific property types, programs/products, or by construction status was not obtained to support FHA max insurable loan amount.

Which requires the bank to mitigate.
 
The issue is not an adjustment between public or septic. The issue is the minimum property requirements on this item were not verified and it did not and can not qualify due to not having sufficient space for repair or replacement which would have also had to be verified in the well waiver, and now costs over $100,000.00 to bring up to current health and safety codes.
Curious your role. Reviewer? Bank originator? Home owner? So is HUD going to claw back the loan? Turn in the appraiser? Look the other way?
 
Curious your role. Reviewer? Bank originator? Home owner? So is HUD going to claw back the loan? Turn in the appraiser? Look the other way?
Home owner.

It took 724 days for HUD to acknowledge the bank is required to order a field review to determine property eligibility.

I will post another update once that is completed.
 
Just curious. Were you provided a copy of the appraisal prior to closing?
I was but like any other member of the general public I was only concerned with the value assigned I was not aware I needed to proofread it for accuracy on top of the appraiser the appraisal management company and the banks underwriter. Even if I had, I would have no way of knowing the minimum distance requirements on septic and well that would have been required.
 
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I want to be made whole as in whatever was REQUIRED to be done if the appraiser was a competent one. Myself, my realtor nor my home inspector determine minimum property requirements so there is no due diligence there. There were two options that would have been available at the time of purchase.

1. The seller would have been required to pay to update the system.
or
2. Purchase a different home and have two 1/2 years of equity today.

Let me know how you calculate 2 years of intentional refusal to order a field review to determine the property did not qualify and throw in the difference in home prices on top of interest rates hikes from 2021-2023.
There is no way to calculate " hypothetical" losses which have not yet been incurred. Thats why the case is so weak because in Civil Cases one needs to have some proven damages and you don't.

What if the property had gone up by 35% and rates had stayed at 2%-3% you would be partying like its 1999 .

I do recommend you consult with a local Real Estate Attorney and see if you have a case. Appraisers are not going to be able to help you. If you were in California I could send you to family law office and they would listen to your story for $500.00 for 1.5 hours time. After that a few days later they would say you have a good case or you have nothing.
 
There is no way to calculate " hypothetical" losses which have not yet been incurred. Thats why the case is so weak because in Civil Cases one needs to have some proven damages and you don't.

What if the property had gone up by 35% and rates had stayed at 2%-3% you would be partying like its 1999 .

I do recommend you consult with a local Real Estate Attorney and see if you have a case. Appraisers are not going to be able to help you. If you were in California I could send you to family law office and they would listen to your story for $500.00 for 1.5 hours time. After that a few days later they would say you have a good case or you have nothing.
The suit has been filed since 2022.
 
OK so I would be consulting with my attorneys on why its taking so long to get to a trial ?
 
OK so I would be consulting with my attorneys on why its taking so long to get to a trial ?
because banks and appraisers have a team of attorneys on their payroll and get to use strategies like stall tactics (adding the seller of the home to the suit and refusing to order the required field review) and financially drain tactics (4 different discovery requests and 6 hours of deposistions) in attempts to force you to drop it.

Possibly because the state licensing board is waiting to pick it up after we are done and the appraiser needs to use her license all she can while she still has it.
 
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