Question about appraisers responsibility to include comments on conditions they observe

[teakay77]

You told is in detail the condition of the property but said nothing about how the appraiser dealt with it. Did the appraiser ignore everything and say “average” or did the appraiser explain in detail the condition and you just didn’t like the value? We know you want to buy him out so you want the value as low as possible.

All the appraisers knew it was for a divorce, not for a bank refinance. I felt like my husband had made the mess outside and would not help me at all on the inside and he should have to reap the financial consequences for his actions. Only one appraiser saw it that way.

 

[teakay77]

These are questions for your attorney who hired the appraiser, not an online forum. It could hurt your case. For dissolution of marriage, the value could be retrospective, depending on how the attorney engaged the appraiser. The value would not necessarily be an "Anticipated Sales Price" as you are describing. Why would your husband be the only party required to clean up or repair the property? I understand you didnt want to fix anything either, but if you both lived there, both of you would be responsible for cleanup and repair, in my opinion. Little things like light fixtures hanging down are miniscule in the grand scale of things. Most everything you described is cosmetic. I would think the appraiser would have made a condition adjustment or used similar condition homes for an "as is" value. I don't think you are going to be able to blame the appraiser if you did not come out on top. Your status says you are a member of a Government Agency rather than General Public, I am curious as to your true agenda.

My attorney told me that she and my husband's attorney would find someone they both knew and who would be fair. That did not happen. The appraiser knew my husband's attorney. The emails from appraiser were to my husband's attorney with mine only cc'ed. I complained and wrote a detailed letter to my attorney about each issue I had, which she ignored and told me I had agreed to it. I have file complaint against her although I doubt it will do any good.

I felt like my husband had made the mess so he can clean it up and have value reflected or leave it as is and have lower value. I had been trying to clean up after him all along, but could not keep up with the mess he was making. He would bring home a truck load (8 ft bed stacked over roof of truck) of pallets and dump them in the front yard next to the driveway. I had to pick them up and move them to somewhere besides the front yard and I was not allowed to get rid of anything.

Yes the interior was cosmetic, but homes don't sell like that. Why would I get the house I want to keep ready to go up for sale? I was the only one who had put any effort into it and now he wanted a big payday for my efforts.

 

[teakay77]

this is an interesting issue with extreme examples. if they were that bad the appraiser could have said the value is subject to certain things being corrected. most appraisers don't run into most of your home's issues, kinda over looks some of the heavier problems from lack of not seeing them before. i would go with 'subject to correcting' some of the issues with an 'as is' value. the overall condition of the house is reflected in the condition noted on the report.

Yes, I know it is unusual. Thanks for your answer. This is the way I expected it to be done.

 

[teakay77]

IMO-going to the State Board is not the answer, as we do not have all the details. and the OP has an attorney, I for the dissolution. of marriage.

OP- "So the property, if it had to go up for sale, was going to be in the same condition as it was when appraised. I had an estimate from an excavator service for $18,800 to fill in holes, level piles and fix drainage caused by my husband's digging".

Do not know if the appraiser was given the estimate for this or anything else, so, IMO-guessing at what was involved at the time.

I was wrong to not make sure the first appraiser saw everything and give him the clean-up estimate. I know he saw the interior problems, but I have no idea what he observed outside. I made an assumption that he would walk all over the property to assess it. The 2nd and 3rd appraisers knew about everything.

 

[J Grant]

I got three appraisals. The first one I did not tell the man anything at all except that it was for a divorce. I expected him to see all the issues and adjust the price accordingly. It was done in May 2020, so before values rose to the level they are now. I did not show him the $18,800 estimate for clean up or point out any drainage issues or walk the property with him to make sure he saw all the "pits and piles." After that I read up on appraisals, talked to a realtor friend and hired another guy. I gave him the clean up estimate and made sure he saw all the issues. The third one I was tricked into having done by my attorney who was, apparently, working for my husband. I just did not know it at the time. I also made sure that appraisers saw all the issues. I even gave her a list (she told me it was ok to provide that to her) of 84 things that needed to be repaired/cleaned up, the $18,800 clean-up estimate and a photo of drainage problem after rain and google overhead showing location of every hole, rut, trench and pile on property.

We paid $340,000 in Jan 2017. 1st appraisal $509,000 in May 2020; 2nd appraisal $386,000 in Jun; 3rd appraisal $525,000 in Sep. The 1st and 3rd said absolutely nothing about condition and comps were all better properties, even if ours had been in the same condition. The 2nd appraisal said the value was because of the "as is" condition.

I paid half for the 3rd appraisal because my husband's attorney wanted it and my attorney told me to do it. After that no one would involved in divorce would even act like the 2nd appraisal existed. So I had to pay him much more. The junk is gone now, but I have not fixed the pits and piles yet. I'm doing it a little at a time with the tractor I got in divorce. They knew they overvalued. They gave me 75 days to refinance or I had to sell it, but I got to keep the money. He would not sign the quitclaim deed and tried to run out clock on 75 days. I got it done in the end though.

The reason for my question is that I have filed a complaint with the state bar assn against my attorney. (The appraisal was just one minor issue, there were many more). I am thinking of filing a complaint against the 3rd appraiser. She called the pits that did not hold water, were dangerous and had to be filled back in "preliminary pond diggings" on her appraisal like they were a good thing and then failed to mention any of the other 84 things on the list that she had seen for herself in her appraisal. My husband's attorney replied back to her in the email she sent with the values,"Thank you, Xxxname!" with an exclamation mark.

You might have a case. Appraisers are supposed to be impartial with divorce or other work , and not under value nor over value to help a "side" out. Idk if the 386 one is too low or the 525 one is too high, but something is wrong to be so far apart

The junk and scrap metal can be removed and normally are not a valuation issue, however pits and ponds dug on the land and or neglect/repair issues do affect value.

 

[teakay77]

So am I reading that the appraiser did not appraise it "AS IS"? If not, send the report to the state board. I never cease to be amazed at appraisers who treat a non-lender assignment like it is a lender assignment and make the value "subject to"....

If this was done for the divorce, it needs to be different than if made for a bank. So unless the report is listing "mortgage lending" as the purpose of the report, it should be strictly " as is" and at a minimum adjust for the cost to cure (clean up the junk.)

All appraisers stated that it was for a divorce. The 3rd appraiser, the one I have a problem with, stated it was for a divorce in the addendum and stated it was for a mortgage refinance transaction in her "comments on appraisal and report identification" section. The text she put in there looks like some cut and paste remarks.

 

[teakay77]

My attorney told me that she and my husband's attorney would find someone they both knew and who would be fair. That did not happen. The appraiser knew my husband's attorney. The emails from appraiser were to my husband's attorney with mine only cc'ed. I complained and wrote a detailed letter to my attorney about each issue I had, which she ignored and told me I had agreed to it. I have file complaint against her although I doubt it will do any good.

I felt like my husband had made the mess so he can clean it up and have value reflected or leave it as is and have lower value. I had been trying to clean up after him all along, but could not keep up with the mess he was making. He would bring home a truck load (8 ft bed stacked over roof of truck) of pallets and dump them in the front yard next to the driveway. I had to pick them up and move them to somewhere besides the front yard and I was not allowed to get rid of anything.

Yes the interior was cosmetic, but homes don't sell like that. Why would I get the house I want to keep ready to go up for sale? I was the only one who had put any effort into it and now he wanted a big payday for my efforts.

I work for a government agency doing computer graphics, nothing to do with real estate. Maybe I answered that question incorrectly, I just thought it was asking my occupation.

 

[KHS445]

In post #10 you indicated that you were able to refinance the property within 75 days. What value was shown on the Bank’s appraisal? Did you provide that appraiser with the same information as you did the others?

Frankly without seeing the subject property, having an understanding of your local market and reviewing each of the appraisals in full it is next to impossible to give you any sound advise.

I would recommend that you find a local appraiser you are comfortable with and asking if they would take a little time to look over each of the appraisals to see if you have a good argument for any action. I know some on this forum will scream that any appraiser that looks over these reports and sits down and talks with you is performing a review appraisal. I would disagree and deal with it more as an educational process for you. I feel part of my role as an appraiser is to educate people on the appraisal process and in this case I would probably dedicate up to half a day at no charge. I would not be providing an opinion of value, just an overview of the reports and what they say about your property. Now if you wanted the reports reviewed and my opinion regarding the quality of the reports, I would definitely charge for that work.

 

[Tiffany Gibbons]

My attorney told me that she and my husband's attorney would find someone they both knew and who would be fair. That did not happen. The appraiser knew my husband's attorney. The emails from appraiser were to my husband's attorney with mine only cc'ed. I complained and wrote a detailed letter to my attorney about each issue I had, which she ignored and told me I had agreed to it. I have file complaint against her although I doubt it will do any good.

I felt like my husband had made the mess so he can clean it up and have value reflected or leave it as is and have lower value. I had been trying to clean up after him all along, but could not keep up with the mess he was making. He would bring home a truck load (8 ft bed stacked over roof of truck) of pallets and dump them in the front yard next to the driveway. I had to pick them up and move them to somewhere besides the front yard and I was not allowed to get rid of anything.

Yes the interior was cosmetic, but homes don't sell like that. Why would I get the house I want to keep ready to go up for sale? I was the only one who had put any effort into it and now he wanted a big payday for my efforts.

Because of the twenty acres I would be much more interested in which comparable sales were used. I think you have an attorney problem more than a need to file an appraiser complaint. I think hiring a review appraiser to review ALL 3 appraisals is a good idea, but I don't know easy that would he or what it would cost. Good Luck! Your ex sounds like a piece of work, At least you got rid of him.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

All appraisers stated that it was for a divorce. The 3rd appraiser, the one I have a problem with, stated it was for a divorce in the addendum and stated it was for a mortgage refinance transaction in her "comments on appraisal and report identification" section. The text she put in there looks like some cut and paste remarks.

Almost certainly a flawed appraisal - and if no mortgage involved, it is wrong. May I assume that it was done on a form labeled as follows which makes it double wrong. Note that top line. This has nothing to do with lending. Again, send it to the state. I know others say no but the only way to weed out incompetence is to punish it.