Lender insists I provide copy of appraisal to homeowner

[Ken-NC]

Can someone please help? (Pamela?) I have a lender that keeps insisting I offer a copy of the appraisal to the homeowner. I tell her that that is her responsibility but she doesn't seem to want to listen.

I know it's law, I just can't locate it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Ken

 

[Farm Gal]

Ken:

YOU are not required by law to give the homeowner a copy, the lender IS in fact required by Fannie Mae, (and one or two other paces if I remember).

As a courtesy to your client you can if so directed assit them in their legal duty. You can do this on a verbal direction IF you choose.

You can cite all the USPAP gobbeldegook you want, but the lender may not listen. Because some of the others in our profession don't follow USPAP!! :evil:

Try the line:

"Mr/Ms. Lender, I could LOSE MY LICENSE TO PRACTICE unless you give me permission IN writing. I have no objection to providing your client with a copy, however due to my interest in continued abilty to prctice in my chosen profession I respectfully decline to follow you wishes until they are placed in written format."

Following up with

"The cost for this service to cover our time and mailing costs will be $XX.oo"

is left to your disgression :wink:

 

[George Hatch]

Ken,

There may be a law in NC, but you'd have to check with them on that. From a USPAP perspective you don't have a problem. The Confidentiality section of the Ethics rule prohibits an appraiser from "disclosing confidential information or assignment results prepared for a client to anyone other than the client and persons specficically authorized by the client;..." (italics added).

If your client is asking you in your engagement to send an additional copy to the borrower, that is a specific authorization for you to do so and does not place you in conflict with confidentiality. Hopefully you're getting written engagements so you can CYA. If you're wondering why your client would want to do this, it is probably because they want you to handle the transmission of the report to the botrrower so they won't have to spend their own time and money doing it. As you know, lenders are required to provide copies of appraisal reports when the borrower requests them and when they have paid for them.

I wouldn't sweat it. But I would charge a little something extra to cover the handling and mailing costs.

George Hatch

 

[Dave Smith]

Ken:

I always provide the lender two copies of the report, unless they ask for more copies, in which case I provide them however many they want, adjusting the bill accordingly for the additional copies. The second copy is for the borrower. The lender will usually be seeing the borrower. Normally I won't be seeing the borrower.

During the property inspection borrowers will often ask me if they can get a copy of the appraisal. I say: "Sure you can, just ask your lender for a copy. Your lender is required to provide you with a copy if you ask for it."

Good luck.

 

[Steve Owen]

Ken, you can provide a copy if the lender/client requests it. I always make them put the request in writing and keep a copy of it in my workfile.

 

[David S. Roberson]

Mr. Lender is too lazy to send the homeowner a copy & wants you to do it. Charge accordingly.

 

[Anonymous]

Tell the lender to fax you a note instructing you to give the borrower a copy of the appraisal. Give the borrower one of the copies that you normally send to the lender. Be sure to increase your fee to cover postage Etc.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Wow, you got my answers way ahead of me.

I agree with what's already been said.

#1: Get the request in writing. For each assignment.

#2: I charge $25 for a printed and snail-mailed copy. If they want to provide the borrower's email address along with the request for me to send them one, I'll cc them for free when I edi it to the lender.

 

[Ken-NC]

Okay, thanks all! As I understand USPAP, I can only correspond or communicate with my client, not the homeowner/borrower/anyone else unless I have the consent of my client.

I prefer to have any and everything documented if humanly possible so when I tell her all I need is a quick fax from her consenting, she throws a fit (I'm not kidding here, she really throws a tantrum on the phone!) and basically says she has no time for that.

However....

As I understand (poorly, sometimes) the banking laws, the appraiser shall provide the appraisal to the client/lender - with an additional copy. The client is then required (by law, right?) to provide their customer with a copy of said appraisal.

So, how far off am I?

Thanks all.

Ken

 

[Red Blumenstock]

Apparently your lender does not know the law. It was a federal requirement effective December 1994 that the lender advise the borrower in writing at the time of an application for a mortgage that they must furnish a copy lof the appraisal to the borrower if the borrower requests it in a timely fashion and pays for it.

Red Blumenstock