Financially Feasible
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2007
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- Pennsylvania
Ok... I'll chime in with my $0.02...
First: I've seen the word "business" floating around here. If there is a substantial business/income producing component to your property... then it might be outside of a residential appraiser's qualifications. I don't know what the Oregon Appraisal Board's take on that is (some states allow residential appraisers to do small commercial work)... but I'm sure that Webbed would be able to answer that fairly easily.
Second: I can only wonder if this is being done on a form report. While it is not impossible to do a property like yours on a form report, there better be 50+ pages of addenda describing EVERYTHING about your property... including a massive section on H&BU. However, if this is being ordered through an AMC, you can bet your last dollar that you'll see nothing remotely close to what is needed for your property. To me, there are so many "moving parts" to your property that this really needs to be done in a narrative format.
Third: I have absolutely no problem if a HO wants to hand me a copy of an old appraisal, any "comps" that they've found, or any other information which may be pertinent to my data gathering. It is up to the appraiser to determine if the information presented is relevant. Sometimes HOs will have information that may not be readily to the appraiser (for a variety of reasons). Naturally, it is up to the appraiser to verify all information to the best of their ability but I find that 9 times out of 10 a HO can be very helpful in the data-gathering process. I am very adept at determining when a HO is trying to "push a value" of when they are sincerely presenting the information that they've researched.
Fourth: Like Webbed said, unless you're dealing with a tract home in a tract development with ABUNDANT sales, I'm almost always at the house for more than a half hour. I've spent more than 3 hours at an inspection on more than a number of occasions. Sometimes I walk the entire tract of land to get a feel for the land and take some additional pictures. I walk in and out, up and down and all around ALL improvements (to the extent that they are accessible). I rarely leave a house of this complexity with less than 100 pictures in my files and at least 5-6 pages of hand-written notes. My tape measure, measuring wheel and laser tape are ALWAYS on me and I try to verify the measurements of all improvements as best as I can.
Fifth: I agree with the analysis of the second appraiser's withdrawl. They realized what they got themselves into and that the AMC fee was nowhere near sufficient to cover the time that is needed to be spent. If it were me, I would have called the client up and informed them of my discovery (the complexity of the assignment) and either renegotiated the fee or declined the assignment. There's absolutely no reason to lie about it.
Sixth: At this point, if I were you, I would require ANY appraiser who sets foot in my house to provide a business card, Oregon Appraiser's License and photo identification. As others have said, some appraisers have been known to send out their trainees or other unlicensed individuals to the inspections. Especially for a property like yours, you should make sure that the MAIN appraiser (either the single, certified appraiser or the certified supervisor of any/all trainees who are assisting on the report) personally shows up at your house and does a full interior/exterior inspection.
It sounds like you have a wonderful, one-of-a-kind property. To be able to paydown principle to get the LTV to 80% is a great position to be in. I wish you the best of luck in your refi. If you suspect any shenanigans are going on, there are a littany of fine Oregon appraisers on here would could provide forensic appraisal review services should you wish to send this matter to litigation. Obviously, for your sanity, I hope that the lender sends out a qualified appraiser who will do the job properly so that neither you nor the lender have anything to worry about from that standpoint.
First: I've seen the word "business" floating around here. If there is a substantial business/income producing component to your property... then it might be outside of a residential appraiser's qualifications. I don't know what the Oregon Appraisal Board's take on that is (some states allow residential appraisers to do small commercial work)... but I'm sure that Webbed would be able to answer that fairly easily.
Second: I can only wonder if this is being done on a form report. While it is not impossible to do a property like yours on a form report, there better be 50+ pages of addenda describing EVERYTHING about your property... including a massive section on H&BU. However, if this is being ordered through an AMC, you can bet your last dollar that you'll see nothing remotely close to what is needed for your property. To me, there are so many "moving parts" to your property that this really needs to be done in a narrative format.
Third: I have absolutely no problem if a HO wants to hand me a copy of an old appraisal, any "comps" that they've found, or any other information which may be pertinent to my data gathering. It is up to the appraiser to determine if the information presented is relevant. Sometimes HOs will have information that may not be readily to the appraiser (for a variety of reasons). Naturally, it is up to the appraiser to verify all information to the best of their ability but I find that 9 times out of 10 a HO can be very helpful in the data-gathering process. I am very adept at determining when a HO is trying to "push a value" of when they are sincerely presenting the information that they've researched.
Fourth: Like Webbed said, unless you're dealing with a tract home in a tract development with ABUNDANT sales, I'm almost always at the house for more than a half hour. I've spent more than 3 hours at an inspection on more than a number of occasions. Sometimes I walk the entire tract of land to get a feel for the land and take some additional pictures. I walk in and out, up and down and all around ALL improvements (to the extent that they are accessible). I rarely leave a house of this complexity with less than 100 pictures in my files and at least 5-6 pages of hand-written notes. My tape measure, measuring wheel and laser tape are ALWAYS on me and I try to verify the measurements of all improvements as best as I can.
Fifth: I agree with the analysis of the second appraiser's withdrawl. They realized what they got themselves into and that the AMC fee was nowhere near sufficient to cover the time that is needed to be spent. If it were me, I would have called the client up and informed them of my discovery (the complexity of the assignment) and either renegotiated the fee or declined the assignment. There's absolutely no reason to lie about it.
Sixth: At this point, if I were you, I would require ANY appraiser who sets foot in my house to provide a business card, Oregon Appraiser's License and photo identification. As others have said, some appraisers have been known to send out their trainees or other unlicensed individuals to the inspections. Especially for a property like yours, you should make sure that the MAIN appraiser (either the single, certified appraiser or the certified supervisor of any/all trainees who are assisting on the report) personally shows up at your house and does a full interior/exterior inspection.
It sounds like you have a wonderful, one-of-a-kind property. To be able to paydown principle to get the LTV to 80% is a great position to be in. I wish you the best of luck in your refi. If you suspect any shenanigans are going on, there are a littany of fine Oregon appraisers on here would could provide forensic appraisal review services should you wish to send this matter to litigation. Obviously, for your sanity, I hope that the lender sends out a qualified appraiser who will do the job properly so that neither you nor the lender have anything to worry about from that standpoint.