Appraiser Independence Violation?

[J Grant]

Luckily, you are not a lender .

Lenders choose which appraisers to work with and appraisers can choose which lenders to work with. Some lenders support appraiser independence, other suck up to RE agents in case they send them a loan referral.

Many RE agents are reasonable to work with, a few were not. I agree her email was not best interest to send, she might have sent same one for years with no problems.

 

[timd354]

Luckily, you are not a lender.

Don't fool yourself as there are plenty of lenders who would remove an appraiser from their appraisal panel if that appraiser had a habit of peeving off potential sources of mortgage business for no good reason.

Not choosing to work with appraisers who are in the habit of peeving off people for no good reason, including real estate agents is not sucking up to real estate agents, but is simply smart business. In many areas, there are plenty of good appraisers who don't peeve people off for no reason, so why would anyone choose to send business to an insolent appraiser who is in the habit of causing unnecessary problems?

 

[gregb]

The current situation for the majority of residential appraisers with an AMC standing between the Lender and the appraiser might have resulted in a different outcome in this scenario.

Completed an inspection of a 4,000sf residence with several angled walls not the typical 45 degrees. After competing the inspection, in my car outside the residence, looked at my sketch and decided that things were not squaring up on the sketch. So, knocked on front door, asked permission to re-check two measurements on the rear wall of the residence, with the home owner saying, no problem, go ahead and verify the measurements.

Later that day, the lender's appraisal department called me to ask about the inspection, stating that the loan officer (who was on a vendetta to get me off the appraisal panel) had spoken with the home owner and the loan officer claimed that my inspection was unprofessional. When the appraiser in the appraisal department of the lender heard my explanation, he said, "case closed," as the lender is paying the appraiser for accurate measurements of the residence, no matter how many times it might take.

 

[J Grant]

Which is a shame if they are good appraisers.. If an appraiser is a good appraiser/competent experienced etc, they should not be prohibited from doing work because they "peeve" an agent. Clients with integrity would keep the appraiser, those who are in it for $ only would fire the appraiser.

 

[J Grant]

We should not be rude of offensive, but appraisers are hired to appraise property, not to win a popularity contest.

 

[J Grant]

I wonder how much business a RE agent sends a lender these days. I think in past decades they had much more input. Now with the internet and borrowers able to compare programs and find lowest rate with a click ,seems far fewer would rely on a suggestion from a RE agent. Many borrowers finance with the bank they have an account with.

 

[gregb]

In our relatively "hot" market it is no suprise that some listing agents specify that a buyer "must get loan approval" from a specified lender. If I were representing the buyer as an agent, not sure how I would deal with this requirement.

 

[timd354]

Which is a shame if they are good appraisers.. If an appraiser is a good appraiser/competent experienced etc, they should not be prohibited from doing work because they "peeve" an agent. Clients with integrity would keep the appraiser, those who are in it for $ only would fire the appraiser.

There is more to being a good appraiser than giving a credible value estimate. Being a good appraiser also includes not conducting one's self in a manner that potentially causes damage to the client for no good reason. An appraiser who makes a habit of peeving off potential sources of business for no good reason will likely cost the lender revenue down the road is not much good at all to the lender.

If other good/competent/experienced appraisers are available who don't peeve off agents for no good reason, then why would a lender keep using an insolent appraiser?. That would be an extremely stupid business decision. I've got news for you, both lenders and appraisers in business in order to make money and there is no reason that the goal of making money cannot be achieved while acting with integrity. Please explain how firing someone who peeves of potential sources of business for no good reason, especially after having a discussion with them about the appropriateness of their conduct, is not acting with integrity.

 

[Deleted member 77547]

The current situation for the majority of residential appraisers with an AMC standing between the Lender and the appraiser might have resulted in a different outcome in this scenario.

Completed an inspection of a 4,000sf residence with several angled walls not the typical 45 degrees. After competing the inspection, in my car outside the residence, looked at my sketch and decided that things were not squaring up on the sketch. So, knocked on front door, asked permission to re-check two measurements on the rear wall of the residence, with the home owner saying, no problem, go ahead and verify the measurements.

Later that day, the lender's appraisal department called me to ask about the inspection, stating that the loan officer (who was on a vendetta to get me off the appraisal panel) had spoken with the home owner and the loan officer claimed that my inspection was unprofessional. When the appraiser in the appraisal department of the lender heard my explanation, he said, "case closed," as the lender is paying the appraiser for accurate measurements of the residence, no matter how many times it might take.

Ya, I think I have gotten two complaints about my being unprofessional during the inspection. Both times they were not happy with the value. My response to both long term clients was...."I can't tell you what I did that made them upset during the inspection; all I can tell you is that I've been with you for a decade and this is the first time you've had a complaint." That is all that need be said. They can decide from there whether to keep me or not. When they get a complaint they are obligated to investigate; nothing personal.

 

[timd354]

In our relatively "hot" market it is no suprise that some listing agents specify that a buyer "must get loan approval" from a specified lender. If I were representing the buyer as an agent, not sure how I would deal with this requirement.

That has been the a part of some real estate contract for as long as I can remember and actually makes sense as any listing agent who has been around for a while has likely been burned by lenders who send approval/pre-approval letters and then subsequently turn down the borrower's loan application based on information that the lender already knew or should have known (i.e., something other than an appraisal/collateral issue)