Our Rights From An Appraiser That Is Not Doing Their Job

[Michigan CG]

I've asked the realtor, the lender and they all say they "cannot" call the appraiser directly.

That is not true unless the lender has a company policy on this. The Realtor is an idiot, she can call the appraiser.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

We need help.

Sounds like you need a better lender, one that orders direct and at the time of the application. Are you even sure the lender has ordered an appraisal ? Or that they accepted it. A lack of foresight and planning on your/lender part, is not a cause of crisis upon mine. I am booked into January and your lender ought to know if that is the case. No one should be surprised the 72 hour turn time died when AMCs starved a third of appraisers out of business over the past 7yr.

 

[Eli]

Whoever told you that you cannot call the appraiser needs their head examined because that is so far from the truth it is not funny.

 

[Eli]

I can see where it might be a case where an AMC and their lender wants their appraiser to do it and are feeding you and the real estate agent bull. Somebody fed you bull on the contacting the appraiser part.

 

[Eli]

Understand that what you paid for the appraisal is most likely not going to the appraiser if you are dealing with AMC. I hope that makes some sense. You can call the appraiser and ask them? If they say I am not going to answer, call the AMC and ask them? You are unlimited in who you can call and ask anything you want. You can call an appraiser and share anything you like or ask any questions you like.

If you have a real estate agent or lender, I would talk with them first, but you can talk to the AMC or appraiser any time you want. I think that talking to the AMC or appraiser would be good at this point because it is not the appraiser who has misled you at this point and in my opinion you have been misled.

You have likely been misled by your lender or their AMC. Who told you that you can't talk to the appraiser?

 

[OSU Beavers]

We've had a family emergency to move out and our lender requested a rush on our appraisal. It is now past 14 days and we are headed for a legal battle, scrapped ALL of our moving companies, cleaning companies, etc. because everyone has been waiting on the appraiser for closing. they should be fired or held accountable.

It is not clear if you are the seller or the buyer, however in either case you are NOT the client of the appraiser. The lender is the client. And unfortunately due to dishonest lenders during the boom, most now have to deal with a greedy and incompetent Appraisal Management Company or AMC between the lender and the appraiser. All the AMC's do is look for the cheapest appraiser to hire, take half of that appraisers fee and delay all communications with the lender by a day.

Keep in mind that appraisers have been overbooked for a full calendar year leading to extended turn times. I have had to raise my fees to keep from being flooded with work, yet AMC's are still asking that we complete reports at the same fees we did them for 20 years ago. In my area it takes four to six weeks between the appraisal being ordered with the appraiser and submission of the report. That does not count the days or weeks that the AMC tried looking for an appraiser to squeeze extra profit out of, nor does it include the time it takes for appraisers to answer the unnecessary and redundant questions or stipulations that AMC's send reports back to the appraiser for. Also, rush requests before a major national holiday usually get "rejected" since we like to spend time with our families too.

 

[Riick]

If I did work in Sussex County I'd volunteer, but I rarely even go below the Canal, let alone south of Dover.
Best of Luck

 

[hastalavista]

Thank you Cindy. the lender said they asked for a rush and it was "rejected." It was ordered on the 11th.

I've received assignment requests on a "rush" basis and have rejected them because I couldn't meet the lender's rush-date. Sometimes, I get the order anyway with "do it as quickly as you can". And, I do; but that quickly-as-I-can is almost always longer than the rush date required.
Right now, I'm not accepting any orders with a delivery date before 01/03/2017. This doesn't sound like an appraiser-issue to me.

I've asked the realtor, the lender and they all say they "cannot" call the appraiser directly. We are in a major setback and now the owner of our home we're in already threatened stuff and shipping stuff on dec. 2nd. my daughter and wife and myself are beyond stressed out and it's already affected my health. And no one seems to know who or how to contact the actual appraiser. today the realtor said they walk on egg shells about it. I just don't get it.

(my bold)

It is never good to hear someone is put into rough spot over a purchase or refinance of a home. None of us would wish that on the general public (and I mean that sincerely) and whether we are directly responsible for it or not, it tends to tarnish everyone who is involved in the mortgage finance industry. No winners here.
Having said that, your focus of frustration should be pointed toward your loan agent/officer, lender, and/or your real estate agent if s/he was the one that advised you to go with a specific lender because based on your description, the appraiser is neither directly nor indirectly responsible for the situation. It seems clear from your post that while you had hoped to achieve a rushed delivery of the appraisal report, that request was rejected (likely by more than one appraiser). Instead, the lender agreed to engage an appraiser with a different delivery date. You can see, as frustrating as it is for you to be caught in the middle of this, why this isn't an appraiser issue but a lender issue.

Now, having said all of that, I've been in the same position as the appraiser who (presumably) accepted the assignment on your referenced property: that is to say, I rejected assignments based on the rush turn-time, have been asked to supply my own turn-time, and have had my bid accepted under my turn-time conditions... then I get a frantic call from the borrower's agent (or borrower) telling me that if the appraisal isn't done immediately, they will lose the deal.
Here is my advice:
1. You should re-negotiate with your other party to extend the appraisal-contingency period.
2. You should review why/how you made an offer that required a specific due date of the appraisal (I assume it is shorter than typical since you posted that originally, the appraisal was ordered on a "rush" basis). Whoever advised you to do that should have done some basic research to find out what the typical turn-times are in your market (especially around the holiday season)! Further, whoever advised you to do so should have made it clear with your lender that time is of the essence and that the rush due date was firm; if that lender couldn't accommodate, your advisor (or you) should have found another lender.
3. You can try to contact the appraiser; but I advise you do this indirectly through the lender. Many appraisers take exception to any of parties of the transaction calling them direct; this has nothing to do with your specific situation but everything to do with what we call appraiser independence (which is codified by regulation in almost every consumer mortgage-transaction involving their primary residence). Simple ask if there is anyway to expedite the matter. Most appraisers will attempt to accommodate if they are able to accommodate. Just keep in mind that the rejection of the rush due-date was done with good reason, and it is likely that the reason hasn't changed.

I wish you the best of luck in getting this situation resolved so your transaction closes and the stress it is causing you and your family disappears.

 

[Tony V]

I've received assignment requests on a "rush" basis and have rejected them because I couldn't meet the lender's rush-date. Sometimes, I get the order anyway with "do it as quickly as you can". And, I do; but that quickly-as-I-can is almost always longer than the rush date required.
Right now, I'm not accepting any orders with a delivery date before 01/03/2016. This doesn't sound like an appraiser-issue to me..

Seems that you have one of those, sought after Deloreans, dude...

 

[hastalavista]

Seems that you have one of those, sought after Deloreans, dude...

LOL!!!