[listingsearch type=”listingids” listingids=”9040681″]We are experiencing some uneven-ness with appraisals. As you have read, there are new rules concerning how appraisals are ordered by your mortgage broker or lender. They no longer can influence the appraisal or choose who is going to appraise your new home or your existing home. Recently I had the experience of having an appraisal ordered by my Buyer client’s lender. The order went out and was received by who I can only assume was a non experienced appraiser who did not have her own real estate key to access the property. She contacted the listing agent for access. This is not unusual. What then happened is that the listing agent asked her to direct a copy of the appraisal to him (ie the Seller). She agreed to do this. So the seller had the proprietary information on her appraisal before the buyer had access to it. During the negotiations for the repairs, the seller used this information to deny any reasonable request to repair a defective heat system in the house because the property had appraised at the purchase price. It was later determined that the appraiser used the com-parables that the listing agent provided to her to determine the appraised value instead of searching the data base available for actual com-parables. The bottom line is that she was influenced by the listing agent instead of providing a neutral valuation, and she shared proprietary information of the buyer with the seller.  I am now asking my buyer clients to make a direct request in writing to the lender that the lender specify on the appraisal order form that the appraisal be shared only with the buyer and the buyer’s lender.Find YOUR way Home!