Late Appraisals

[Vancer]

Hello and thanks to all in advance for any input.

We're purchasing a home in Oregon, and were attempting to close on the 29th of this month prior to Labor day. Everything is riding now on the appraiser to complete the report. She had 7 days to complete it by yesterday, and submitting nothing therefore it is late.

Now the close will likely get pushed off a week. I have two buddies here in Austin who are appraisers. One gets his reports back within 48 hours (so he tells me though I do believe him based on his word ethic), the other smokes pot all day, golfs 5 days a week, is lazy and late often.

My point is, as the consumer I have to pay for an appraisal, yet I cannot choose the appraiser. The appraiser is not affected by the close, but everyone else is. The buyer, seller, mortgage broker, realtor...all dependent on the close for their own desired outcomes. It's not like if the appraisal is late, the appraiser doesn't get paid right? And from what I've been told there really isn't any recourse either.

Yet the appraiser can easily be like my second buddy, slacks off all week (by no means am I saying all appraisers are like this BTW) and turns a report in late, and that is acceptable and we all just have to "deal with it"? The appraiser gets paid either way, but I can't fire them if they don't meet their contractual obligations and meet the due date.

That leaves a very wide open door for those who typically wait until the last minute to do things. And being self-employed I know that discipline and motivation some days are hard to come by.

Am I wrong in assuming the deck is completely stacked against the consumer on these deals? Now I know why I read stories of people living in hotels while waiting for appraisal.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[Elliott]

Has the house been inspected? When did they assign the appraisal? The only time I miss due dates is because of delays imposed by realtors or lenders, to "hold off until." I do sometimes get requests because the first appraiser was AWOL, but the AMCs will frequently go back to the same appraisers because the appraiser fees meet the AMCs fee schedule.

 

[timd354]

Now the close will likely get pushed off a week. I have two buddies here in Austin who are appraisers. One gets his reports back within 48 hours (so he tells me though I do believe him based on his word ethic), the other smokes pot all day, golfs 5 days a week, is lazy and late often.

Your new home is not in Austin.

It is well known in the real estate world that there is extreme demand for appraisals versus the number of appraisers in Oregon right now and often it is taking 30 days or more to get an appraisal back as a result. Your lender and your real estate agent should have been aware of this and properly set everyone's expectations and also set a closing date that accounts for this reality and/or ordered the appraisal much earlier in the process.

That being said, It is also possible that the appraiser involved is just a lazy POS.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Am I wrong in assuming the deck is completely stacked against the consumer on these deals? Now I know why I read stories of people living in hotels while waiting for appraisal.

You need to understand and accept that the appraiser is not your client. The AMC or lender (the entity that engaged the appraiser or acting as the lender's agent) is the client. Banking laws require that the appraiser be engaged by the lender.

Therefore you have no say.

If you are not happy, fire your lender for hiring a crappy appraiser and go with another lender.

 

[TRESinc]

before you go off on someone you don't even know you should probably do a little research. when you don't it makes you look bad.

for many, many months now the demand for appraisals in oregon (and some other states) has far exceeded the supply of appraisers and it is not uncommon to have turn times exceed 8 weeks, more in some areas.

you are not lending the money, so you are not the client of the appraiser and you do not get to choose the appraiser. the appraisal is done for the benefit of the lender, who is loaning the money, thus they order it and they are the client and intended user. if the borrower was allowed to they could choose someone they know and influence the outcome of the report.

 

[Michigan CG]

..............She had 7 days.............

I have been quoting two weeks for many years, last year I was up to a month out for residential.

Oregon, Washington and Colorado are out four weeks last I heard.

Any loan officer expecting a report turned in within seven days, especially in Oregon, is an idiot.

 

[SpartanAG]

My point is, as the consumer I have to pay for an appraisal

Actually, your lender pays for the appraisal. What you are paying is a pass-thru expense from the lender.

yet I cannot choose the appraiser.

Federal regulations prohibit lenders from accepting appraisal reports from borrower engaged appraisers. The appraiser must be engaged by the lender for a federally related transaction which is what your likely loan is.

The appraiser is not affected by the close, but everyone else is.

The appraiser is the only disinterested party in the transaction. Appraisers don't have a financial or emotional interest in the property. That is why lenders hire appraiser; so they can get an unbiased opinion of value.

It's not like if the appraisal is late, the appraiser doesn't get paid right?

That is between the appraisers client (the lender) and the appraiser. As previously stated, the lender should know that a seven day turn time in Oregon is likely unrealistic right now.

And from what I've been told there really isn't any recourse either.

Since you are not the appraisers client, your only likely recourse for the appraisal being "late" is to refuse to reimburse your lender for the appraisal fee.

Keep in mind, the appraisal isn't being done for your benefit. It is being done as part of the lenders due diligence in order to determine whether or not they (the lender) want to sell you a loan.

 

[gregb]

Realtors should be advising buyers on which local lenders to use in their market area; most agents realize that when an out of area lender utilizes an AMC hiring out of area appraisers, negative results can ensue, including late and inadequate appraisals.

 

[djd09]

I guess public trust doesn't matter as long as the lender is the client. Bias is the other half of the equation.

 

[glenn walker]

Agree with a lot of what the poster says .. We are one of the only businesses in the country that the consumer pays for the service but then is told they are not a client and not to talk to the appraiser. Imagine going to the doctor paying and then having the nurse tell you sorry you cannot talk to the doctor.. Many appraisers are not backed up for weeks or months they are just lazy slackers and in States like Oregon one of the new games is gee I'm so busy it will take a month to get to it. The truth is there are some up there in that situation but others I talk to are simply taking advantage by over-booking which helps perpetuate the shortage myth.

In the long run the greedy appraisers are going to help kill our profession because the lenders- politicians and GSE'S are already making moves to change the situation. The VA in desperation raised the fee to $800 plus up there and are really screwing the Vets because the VA created an artificial shortage by keeping the roster low for years BUT then went into panic mode when Vets started calling there Senators and Congressman because nobody would sell a house VA because it was taking months to get the appraisal completed.

I spoke with one lazy no good ******* that needed to do a 1004D so the buyer could close escrow and it took him 10 days to get the job done- I asked why so long and he stated because that's when I feel like doing it .

I'm with the poster this business model is broken and in my book if someone is paying for my services then guess what they deserve good service and some respect.