What’s the best practice for disputing an appraisal? Part 1

This may be hard to believe, but not all appraisals are perfect… so what does a loan officer or processor do if they find errors or have concerns about the appraisal? So, what’s the best practice for disputing an appraisal and is it really worth going through the dispute process?

At NAN, we absolutely think it’s worth it to go through the dispute process if you have reason to believe it’s flawed. We see and work on disputes here at NAN, along with our other Staff Appraisers. We receive positive feedback from our clients and they appreciate our knowledge and ability to work with the appraiser to resolve any concerns and answer questions. If additional sales are provided, appraisers will review them to see if they may have initially overlooked them and determine if they’re comparable properties. They’ll respond to questions and provide additional data to support items as well. In the end, the ultimate goal is to either provide a revised report if information was missed or errors were made, OR to provide an explanation to the lender addressing the concerns at hand.

If you decide to dispute an appraisal, first, gather data including errors found and any factual support for your dispute. If you believe the appraiser selected comparables that were not the most similar, submit a list of closed sales to be considered. They should be as or more similar than the Comps the appraiser selected. Don’t submit active or pending listings-a common misconception is these represent current market value, when in fact, they only represent what the owner decided to list it for. If you see a house across the street from the Subject that is listed right now for $30K higher than the appraised value, that does not indicate market value. Until it’s sold, the market has not accepted that price. Nobody knows if it will sell at all, or if it does, at what price.

What is the dispute process like at NAN? Stick around for Part II!

ABOUT NATIONWIDE APPRAISAL NETWORK- NAN is an industry leader in appraisal management, providing a unique approach to appraisal management through customization, innovation, and quality. NAN website – 888.760.8899