Have you ever felt like appraisers are anal retentive because they won’t talk about the appraised value with you? What’s their problem? Why won’t they discuss value with real estate agents or even the Borrower? Let’s take a quick look below at a very common conversation and some brief commentary.
Agent: Is it going to “make value”?
Me: I really can’t talk about value with you.
Agent: Oh no, so that means we’re in trouble!
Me: Please don’t read anything into my response. I simply cannot discuss value with you since you’re not my client.
Fussy or ethical? Sometimes it seems appraisers are perceived as being difficult by refusing to discuss the appraised value, but it’s important to understand appraisers are obligated to uphold confidentiality for their client. In the case of an appraisal for a loan, the client is the party who ordered the appraisal. Since the real estate agent is not the one who hired the appraiser, it would betray confidentiality to share the appraised value with the agent. Think of it on the other hand. If an agent ordered a private appraisal to establish a list price, the appraiser should not share the value with anyone else besides the agent. Imagine how it could impact the transaction if the appraiser shared the appraisal or appraised value with prospective buyers or other agents. That could damage the agent’s marketing strategy or potentially hurt negotiations between a seller and buyer, right? Confidentiality is serious business – no matter who hires the appraiser (attorney, home owner, real estate agent, relative, lender, governmental agency…).
Some tips for talking with appraisers: If you’re looking for a bit of advice for talking with appraisers, check out Quick tips for agents for talking to appraisers and Five questions to ask yourself before giving comps to an appraiser.
Does this make sense? Agents, do appraisers still share this type of information with you? I’m curious to hear.
If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Twitter, subscribe to posts by email or “like” my page on Facebook
Such A GREAT post! Thanks Ryan … and such a hot topic right now.
Thank you so much, Heather. I really appreciate your comment. Honestly, I think many real estate professionals don’t quite have a handle on the issue. It’s not that appraisers are trying to be difficult (though the industry doesn’t have the most personable image I think). We just need to abide by standards and keep client confidentiality. I’d be curious to hear stories from agents though on whether appraisers share the value or not.
I signed a contract in July 2020 ,the attorney, lender and agent does very little communication about my loan . They said the loan is in underwriting. I asked my attorney to email me a copy of the appraisal, she said she doesn’t have it and I have to give permission to the lender to give it to her. Is this true? Is this true? How long does it take for or the maximum time to purchase a home? It seems like I’m getting the run around. Who of authority can I contact about my situation.
Hi Gloria. Thanks for reaching out. To me it sounds like what the attorney is saying is true because the lender and attorney shouldn’t have an open system where the attorney gets the appraisal. I don’t know that you need to ask the lender if you can share the appraisal. Once you get it, just send it to the attorney if the attorney needs it. This is said as a non-attorney of course as I don’t want to be giving you any legal advice. All things said, there is no one length for an escrow, but if you are not getting clear communication I would be concerned. Keep asking the loan officer and/or lender for clarity. If there is a real estate agent involved, ask what is happening and when it’s going to close. Somebody like this within the transaction should be able to give you a status update and/or an explanation why it is taking so long also.