Disagreement with Appraisal

quote:

---

We're refinancing and trying to avoid PMI. The appraisal came back lower than we would have liked,

---

Dealt with the exact same thing a year ago...

quote:

---

Do I have any recourse in disputing the appraisal outside of just canceling the refi?

---

Advice I was given and it worked was to call the appraiser and talk to him directly. Explain what you are trying to do and where you think that he may have overlooked something. Maybe a measurement or a comp. Even asked that if you send him a few other comps, would he take a look and think about using them in his figures.

He ended up taking a look, admitting he could change a few things, and did so. Said that he was much more open to it since it was a refi and not a sale.


btw, this was after my finance guy spoke with him and they had at it.

Apraisers no longer have to keep finance companies happy to get referral work. And they know they are unlikely to get sued for appraising a property too low, whereas overstating the value can leave them exposed to law suits. Thus, they choose to err on the side of caution.

The problem is that many appraisers are just plain lazy. They do not look for unique features of properties, or circumstances of sales, that distinguish them from comps, and every piece of property is unique, as is every sale.