you obviously have much more respect for Landsafe than most. I have no problem with them but they have a problem with me and my kind because
A) I am an independent fee appraiser
B) there are mortgage brokers out there feeding folks like me work
They will typically "chop" any deal a MB sends to them. There are several reasons for this (rates and LTV quotes being skewered is one of them). More than one MB has been told that if the appraisal had been ordered through Landsafe there would be no review etc....I have no problem with LS. I have a problem with them questioning my values based on some 2-3 year jerk pulling comps from the MLS because he has been instructed to cut value. Black helicopters man.(and God help the 2-3 year jerk when I'm done with him)
The way it works, I believe, is when an appraisal comes in from a mortgage broker it gets a desk review. If the desk reviewer has questions that aren't satisfied, it is bumped up to a field review, which is usually done by another independent fee appraiser who is on the LandSafe approved list. It is unusual for a staff member to do a field review because they are paid a percentage of total volume that increases with the number of reports they complete and a review can really take forever. I know that as an approved LandSafe appraiser a certain number of my reports are reviewed, and if a broker specifically requests me then the report is reviewed 100% of the time. Staff appraisers get reviewed too, I've been told.
I do not do many reviews. The reason is because every review I ever did for LandSafe (and 70% of all other companies) was a nightmare and so I just stopped doing them unless I had no work whatsoever. This year I've done three for them. All three were incredibly awful. One was a house appraised for $330,000 in good condition but when I got there I saw it was vacant so I could walk around. The appraisal was dated four days before I got there but the house was completely trashed, the photos were from a different season, everything was broken, additions not connected to the floorplan counted in living area, the kitchen and baths totally removed. It wasn't worth $210,000 and it was only that amount because it was on 9 acres. The one after that was also bizarre. It looked like a simple appraisal but when I read the invoice it was a bill for an appraisal and an update of an appraisal. As I read the report I found that it was appraised for $275,000 and all its sales were from early February and a new effective date was given in May while the old effective date was December. But the guy ignored 6 sales from March, April and May because they were all in the $240s, and the listings were pointing to a continued decline. Finally, the third one was one I had appraised about three weeks prior. The pole in front of the house was struck by a car the it tugged the wires that lead to the subject's roof pulling out the eave and several other things; the house was also warped, the floors bowed up so if you were to place a basketbal in the center the only reason it would not roll is out of indecision on which way to go. The last time the house was updated was in 1962 and the kitchen, wood panel walls and carpets were well beyond their contributory years. I appraised it for $64,000 and CB4'd the house. I had a comp that closed for $90,000 that was a bit larger than the subject and when I called the agent was told that the owners poured $27,000 into it in updating the month before they sold. Now $27,000 isn't that much on the grand scheme of thing, but these are 700sf houses. You can nearly build a new one for that amount. This little house was plush compared to mine and I made a market extracted adjustment. I get the new report, done for a mortgage broker, the appraiser used three other sales from 8 to 10 months ago, since which time the market lost 30% of its value, called the market stable without making time adjustments, made no mention of the bowed floors or torn off roof, didn't CB4 the property, and appraised it for $90,000. The desk reviewer asked for an additional comp and was supplied that updated $90,000 sale, called "Similar" in condition to the subject by this new appraiser, and sent the report in. Total garbage appraisal.
Personally, and no offense to you or your mortgage brokers - I know there are some good ones out there - but I am always certain and have never been proven wrong that if LandSafe sends me a review it is going to be a nightmare.
And yes, I do have respect for LandSafe. They are not perfect, but I believe they are one of the better players in the game, protecting better appraisers from skippy - and I mean no disrespect, I am speaking solely from a Florida point of view which is very, very different than NY.
