Borrower send letter from attorney wanting appraisal fee returned

[J Grant]

Do not talk to the borrower. The idea to qoute the Frank Dodd portion is excellent. Write back to the attorney, "See below why asking me to return appraisal fee is a violation of Frank Dodd" , quote the FD section, and send it. You'll never hear from them again!

(they were trying to intimidate you into changing the value). Keep the letter on file to be framed one day.

There seems to be something about Reverse Mortgages. The companies seem very agressive and the people very nasty.
Good luck , you will be fine1

 

[Kevin Mc]

Wanted anyone's advise if this had ever happened to them. I received a letter from an attorney's office that a borrower hired on a property I appraised. The borrower is demanding his appraisal fee back because I did not come up with the value that he and a realtor friends of his says his property should have appraised for. I called my E&O insurance & they stated that they do not help on these matters. They did give me a form to have signed if I decide to return the borrower money. I do not want to return the money because it was a good appraisal. Do not want to waste my time if he files a compliant with the board. I could not believe this attorney states in the letter that his client demands that I re-appraise the property for at least $225,000 or if I refuse to change the appraisal I refund his money.
Just wanted to see if anyone has had this happen to them & how they handled it? Thanks.

If you have that in writing contact your state bar association immediately.

 

[Cob]

I just don't understand people, do you think if they had say a ring, baseball card or car appraised that they would get an attorney to send you a letter because they thought the value was to low?

 

[CANative]

Recommend following Kennedy's advice. Do nothing.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Thank you Mike Kennedy! This has happened to me where the homeowner was unhappy with the appraised value and wanted a refund. Unfortunitly ,she filed a complaint with the state RE commision and caused me several sleepless nights. If this happens again(God hope not) I will send this to the RE commision with my work file and response. It is a big problem for appraisers,homeowners filing complaints due to a low values. I have read editorials that encourage homeowners to file complaints (very depressing).BTW: When I recieved the complaint to refund the appraisal fee, I felt at that point all the stress the HO caused ... I did not refund her money. A month later she was forclosed on.Thanxs for the information.

You're very welcome. Keep the Faith

 

[Fritz in NY]

The old sub-prime LO's

Do not talk to the borrower. The idea to qoute the Frank Dodd portion is excellent. Write back to the attorney, "See below why asking me to return appraisal fee is a violation of Frank Dodd" , quote the FD section, and send it. You'll never hear from them again!

(they were trying to intimidate you into changing the value). Keep the letter on file to be framed one day.

There seems to be something about Reverse Mortgages. The companies seem very agressive and the people very nasty.
Good luck , you will be fine1

It's the LO's from the past doing the reverse mortgage biz now. I do about 2 a month and it's always some mouthy kid telling ME what HE wants done.

 

[saberry17]

thanks everyone for you suggestions, I really appreciate it.

 

[ockyappraiser]

"Saberry,

You mentioned talking about this with an E&O provider. I don't know who your E&O company is but if you are with the company I work for (LIA Administrators) and feel you need further advice regarding this situation, please call our office and ask specifically for me.

It is true that a demand for return of an appraisal fee only is generally not a "claim" under any E&O policy because whether a fee is refunded is a contractual matter -- as opposed to a demand letter threatening to sue you for damages. However, whether or not it is a formal "claim," if you are with my company, I want to make sure you are getting the right advice for the situation.

Thank you,
Peter Christensen (LIA's general counsel)"


I would second this. I attended their seminar here in KY and it was excellent. This question came up and if I remember correctly that advised against ever refunding an appraisal fee.

 

[Non Sequitur]

This is why every business person should have an attorney they are familiar with who will respond to a letter for a reasonable fee.

And why isn't the AMC involved? You need to jump up and down their rear end and make them earn that 65% fee split.

 

[Junior Member]

I would second this. I attended their seminar here in KY and it was excellent. This question came up and if I remember correctly that advised against ever refunding an appraisal fee.

Mark,

Thank you for the friendly words about the seminar. We are making one more trip to do the class again with KREAB on 4/15 in Florence, KY. Our precise, but general advice is don't a return any fee without getting a release signed -- because without a release, the threatening attorney may just gladly accept the refund and turn around and sue the appraiser for negligence, using the refund as an admission by the appraiser that there was something wrong with the report. However, it's up to the appraiser whether they want to return a fee and, even though a demand for return of a fee is not usually a "claim" under any E&O, I've walked a handful of appraisers through how to defend themselves in small claims court cases when borrowers are demanding a fee refund. All of these appraisers won and felt good about standing up for themselves.

Thanks, Peter Christensen (LIA's general counsel)