Appraiser Marked Private Septic And Well As Public

[Huds_Harm]

So your county does not approve septic systems and well placement to ensure you are not drinking poo water? Ok, Still the most the appraiser is responsible for is recommending the septic system and drain field be located. You seem to be missing the point that regardless of what the appraiser says, except for a few things, the lender has all of the authority to approve or not a loan with a property as collateral. This is on the lender. That BS about them not ordering what they needed because the appraiser didn't mark the box is just that-BS. They already knew the property had a septic system and if they chose to approve the loan without a survey, then they are the ones that made the error. If they had caught that prior to closing, you wouldn't have your loan. Since you didn't know there was a problem with system, you might be pretty upset about not getting that loan.

I think because the appraiser did not recommend that and the AMC told the lender MPR were verified is the reason the loan went through. Thank you for your help. I will let you know the outcome.

 

[NJAPRAZE]

Have you tried the "Home Inspectors Forum"? This is more their thing. Every appraisal I do says I am not a licensed home inspector and perform no testing of systems or appliances.

You're obviously not doing FHA appraisals...

 

[NJAPRAZE]

Also issues arose 2 months after closing and this forum suggests an appraiser to note if the property was vacant that it can’t be determined if it is working since it is not being used and recommend inspection by a licensed professional but hey she took a picture of the water well and didn’t do the required pump test either.

this is a suggestion by peers; not an absolute mandatory requirement; no different than assuming that a home with central air is operable (even though it's 30 degrees out and the only the heat is on)

 

[NJAPRAZE]

The home did not qualify prior to purchase due to the minimum distance requirements from well to septic and well to leach lines therefore if marked correctly that would have been determined and the loan never funded.

again --appraiser don't fund loans; the lender does... and it's their UNDWR that is responsibble for aggregating ALL avail data (home insp, appraisal, county records, other inspectors, etc.) to make a determination about the adequacy of collateral; if the loan went thru, and you believe it shouldn't have, then that is where your liability likely resides -- just sayin'

 

[NJAPRAZE]

Well, we've been patient and tried to be helpful. But this argument you KEEP making IMHO is a non-starter. If you want to hire an attorney go ahead, but repeating the same thought here 100 times will not get your loan unfunded. I would be shocked if any court, tribunal, or board would award a dime of damages to you from the appraiser, especially when EVERYONE else knew there was a well and septic and NO ONE ordered a septic test (which likely would have passed anyway). Your lender (both the loan officer and underwriters), the seller, the agents, county engineers, and you---are all more culpable in this than the appraiser.

You still have not answered WHY this will cost $60K to repair--or if you did I missed it. Brand new systems typically cost far less than that.

And -- OP has not stated what the home inspector noted/said; if their report noted well/septic -- then UNDWR clearly knew one was onsite and didn't order a test, rather - instead OK'd the loan and certified that all undwr docs etc were good and it was OK to close on the loan. Now... OP wants appraiser to accept all liability for new maitenance costs - subsequent to closing - bc a system failed that appeared operable at the time of insp and there were no apparent issues AT THAT TIME. OP/Buyer had opportunity to have systems checked by their own contractors, etc as well -- before closing -- too. Now it appears to be a case of "buyer beware" -- a clause in typical real estate contracts. OP seems stuck on appraisal, one of several tools the lender/UNDWR relys upon to assess collateral, instead of the UNDWR's negligence in incorrectly aggregating the data (from appraisal, home inspection, county records, title, etc.) and certifying that the loan package met FHA/HUD requirements when the body of data they had access to... told them otherwise. This is where OP should be focusing their legal efforts IMO.

If UNDWR correctly went thru their checklist in putting the loan package together and stipped the well/septic as an item needing remedy, etc. -- would have given the OP the opportunity to a) renegotiate/reduce sale price with seller to cover the antic cost to remedy, b) given the seller the oppty to remedy [out of pocket] prior to settlement and the OP occupying the property, or c) given the OP the opportunity to exit the deal/purchase. Thus, liability is likely most attributed to the UNDWR/lender, IMO.

 

[NJAPRAZE]

There were no signs of failure or evidence of malfunction. It was working correctly at the time of purchase and the home inspector gave it the stamp of approval. Didn’t stop working until after closing, correct?

Please tell me how you or anyone determined it was working if it was not inspected as required????????????????????????

Also not only did the appraiser lie about the utilities being public, I just learned the AMC LIED on the 21 point QC FHA form to the lender stating not only did the report indicate that the property was private water and sewer, but that it included the statement ? If also on private water, is there a comment noting if the subject meets the minimum FHA distance requirements from the well to the storage tank, drain field, and property? BUT TWO LIES MUST BE A COIENCIDENCE RIGHT?

6 Does the report indicate that the water is private? If yes, does the appraiser provide a comment on the availability of public water and if the subject is required to connect? Also, does the appraiser comment if private utilities are common for the area and if there is any impact on the subject's marketability? Yes

8 Does the report indicate that the sewer is private? If yes, does the appraiser provide a comment on the availability of public sewer and if the subject is required to connect? If also on private water, is there a comment noting if the subject meets the minimum FHA distance requirements from the well to the storage tank, drain field, and property? Also, does the appraiser comment if private utilities are common for the area and if there is any impact on the subject's marketability? Yes

You also indicated that public records were incorrect, as well; are you going after the assessor, similarly?

 

[Stantheman]

But if it were corrected the appraiser would have had to ask for a survey to determine distances and that information is not on the survey nor with the city county or state.

Not necessarily, we can use Hypothetical Conditions, and Extraordinary Assumptions which the typical reader wouldn't understand.

 

[Stantheman]

You also indicated that public records were incorrect, as well; are you going after the assessor, similarly?

It sounds like it wasn't a legal septic because the OP says the County had no record of it. This should have been brought up in the cleanout prior to purchase.

 

[Huds_Harm]

Not necessarily, we can use Hypothetical Conditions, and Extraordinary Assumptions which the typical reader wouldn't understand.

So how do you ensure it meets minimum distance requirements without measuring?

 

[residentialguy]

I did however I did not know the minimum FHA requirements of 50 ft distance between the two.

You still would have had to repair the well had it been 50' out. How did the lender get wind of the well failure? And if FHA did not know about the well, then it's not FHA that made you move it.