Is This Legal??

[Rob]

To All,
I thought I asked a simple question, but I haven’t received an answer to it. I’m not trying to be a wise guy here; I’m just trying to see if this is the norm.
Do most appraisers charge the same fee to re-certify an appraisal (no matter what the original fee was), or do they charge a lower fee? Based on my previous comments, I feel a lower fee is appropriate.
Based on what I was told by my broker (and another broker) I would expect a fee in the $50 to $75 range for the recert. I’m also told some appraisers don’t charge anything.

I don’t know!!! That’s why I’m asking the questions.

Thanks for your comments,
Rob

 

[Jeff Horton]

Rob, welcome to the internet. Ask what time it is and you end up with a discussion on watches, on the origins of time, time zones and the possibilty of altering time by time travel.

I can not speak for anyone else but no, I dont charge the same to recertify an appraisal as I did to for the original appraisal.

But I have my doubts that the appraiser charged $125 for the appraisal either. I suspect your lender paid part of the fee and that the $125 he is charging would appear more in line if you saw his full fee.

 

[Ray Ohler]

you. First, I wasn't going to charge $575 to "re-issue" NOT recertify the report (although I guess you could say it WAS recertifying, play on words). I explained how much work was involved. In agreement with Jeff, I also had my doubts that the appraiser charged only $125 for the original appraisal. Obviously what I said about "reading" posts is true. You WRITE one thing, somebody else READS it another way. Anybody REALLY know what time it is? :lol:

 

[David S. Roberson]

What time is it? Time to answer Rob's question. No, there is no "regulation" on what any professional can charge for his or her services. The Appraiser can charge whatever he thinks the market will bear.

 

[Ray Ohler]

on Tues. Feb 12 at 6:53 PM. I submitted MY first answer on Tues. Feb 12 at 7:27 PM (Legal, yes), Bill-NC answered it on Thurs. Feb. 14 at 7:29 AM. As far as some of the REST of the posts, YEP, ask what time it is on the internet and you get Jeff's analogy. 8O Hey, we're ALL frustrated writers. All kidding aside I TRY and answer the question as best as I can. I TRY to be direct, if at all possible, sometimes letting some HUMOR enter into my response. This is also not brain surgery and you can't give a blanket answer that covers all the bases or all the questions. Hey, just like appraising, which is why I believe AVM's will not work which DOESN'T mean they won't use them and cut down the workload even more for the appraisers. A lot of the problems that appraisers are facing were CREATED by appraisers. NOT ALL, but a lot. I got to go down and put another pot of coffee on.

 

[Neil (Texas)]

Rob,

Price controls were discontinued long ago. The appraisal business is like any other... competitive. Are doctors, attorneys, car washes, etc. required to limit their fees? No. And I suspect, in your business you also have no limitations, outside of competition. I have yet to meet a broker that understands the difference between a "reprint", "recertification" and an "update" (and I have two immediate family members who are very astute RE brokers).

You use the term "recertify the appraisal". Are you asking the appraiser to issue a new opinion of value (whether it be the same or not), or are you asking for a "reprint of the original appraisal with another lender's name"???

 

[KD247]

Rob,

I think your confusion stems from the appraiser's client-appraiser relationship.

The appraiser had a contractual duty only to the original lender (not the borrower), which was fulfilled. Now, the appraiser is free to decline, or negotiate for, any additional work relating to this assignment.

As far as I know, there are no laws or appraisal regulations that obligate the appraiser to any of the borrower's future needs.

From a practical viewpoint, most appraisers are happy to assist the borrower but they expect to be compensated for their services. Your appraiser appears to be working with you in a very reasonable manner.

Reprinting a report involves more than just the physical process and includes potential liability and the potential for additional follow-up questions from the new underwriter. "Receritifying" the value involves additional research and even more liability. Many appraisers charge about the same price as for a new appraisal.

The fact that you paid only $125 for the original appraisal has no bearing on the price of the recertification. If you are interested in making sure that everything is fair, you could pay the appraiser an additional $450; the $200 you underpaid on the original appraisal plus $250 for the recertification.

I'm all for paying as little as possible for anything, but at the same time a borrower is bringing an appraiser to his knees for $100 in savings, the loan agent might reduce fees by $1,000 with barely a grimace.

Koert

 

[Monica (N GA)]

Rob:

In most cases a competent appraiser will charge anywhere from $275 to $400 for a full appraisal. If your appraiser will make the changes for $125 then that could be a savings of 55% to 68%. You said yourself that you felt like the lender probably subsidized the amount you paid.

It is LEGAL to charge whatever you want for your services however, what may NOT be legal, atleast from an appraiser's liscensing standpoint, is whether he/she CAN change the names on the appraisal at all.

There are many schools of thought on this and many appraisers feel that the standards that we must follow (USPAP) dictates that the original appraisal belongs to lender A. If another appraisal is done for lender B (even with a release from lender A) then a new inspection and comp search is required. Some appraisers will go even further and state that they still can not complete a new appraisal without violating confidentiality rules concerning lender A and will not touch it at all.

So the moral of this rambling is this: You have 2 choices you can shell out the full amount for another appraisal from another appraiser or you can pay this man/woman what he/she is due and consider yourself lucky that they are willing to even do it at all!

You would be amazed at how often people ask us to work for free or for peanuts. That is why we rise to the occasion when we have the chance to set someone straight. Sorry if we went overboard.

Monica

 

[Rob]

Thank You Monica, and all the others for all your responses. Yes Ray, you did answer my question, I do apologize!!

Ok, you guys win!!!

After hearing from a few people (all non-appraisers) that a recert probably would cost $50 - $75, I guess that's what I expected. I know it's not a lot of $ we are talking about here, I just wanted to pay the norm. Thanks to your answers it seems I have actually done very well.

Again, Thanks To All!!!
Rob

 

[liznindy]

In a perfect world, the borrower would not know how much the appraisal fee is and the client (who is the lender, less we forget) would pay.

When lenders tell THEIR clients how much the appraisal is going to cost them, the borrowers mistakely (though understandably) think the appraiser is working for them and they now 'own' the appraisal report. No, No, the appraisal belongs to the lender :!:

I wish I had a nickel (ok, a dollar, inflation you know) for each time I was asked by the borrower what the final opinion of value is. To which I must answer, "Sorry I can't tell you as the lender is my client, even though you paid for the appraisal. Make sure you ask them for a copy."