appraisal fees

[sarah neal]

Alabama: I was trying to refinance my home. The man I talked to told me there was a nonrefundable 75.00 fee, but he could not refinance my home because the apprasier did not appraise for what it did the first time.(differerent apprasier) my bank account was charged and extra 325.00 for the apprasal without my knowledge and I was not told if it didn't appraise for the same amount he couldn't do this if anything I was lead to believe he could refinance without a problem as long as my credit was good, is there a way I can get back my apprasal fee?

[sarah neal]

[quote=sarah neal]Alabama: I was trying to refinance my home. The man I talked to told me there was a nonrefundable 75.00 fee, but he could not refinance my home because the apprasier did not appraise for what it did the first time.(differerent apprasier) my bank account was charged and extra 325.00 for the apprasal without my knowledge and I was not told if it didn't appraise for the same amount he couldn't do this if anything I was lead to believe he could refinance without a problem as long as my credit was good, is there a way I can get back my apprasal fee?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by sarah neal

Alabama: I was trying to refinance my home. The man I talked to told me there was a nonrefundable 75.00 fee, but he could not refinance my home because the apprasier did not appraise for what it did the first time.(differerent apprasier) my bank account was charged and extra 325.00 for the apprasal without my knowledge and I was not told if it didn't appraise for the same amount he couldn't do this if anything I was lead to believe he could refinance without a problem as long as my credit was good, is there a way I can get back my apprasal fee?

**A: what man? Appraisal fees are NOT refundable but a direct and valid expense paid for by the mortgage applicant. It did not matter if another appraiser went out and the value was low.

[ice5146]

Lenders/Brokers don't just arbitrarily debit a potential Borrower's Bank Account for an appraisal fee. That's totally illegal and frankly I can't understand how anyone got access to your routing/account number without your knowledge.

Secondly, the 75.00 non-refundable fee is more than likely a "trip fee" for the appraiser coming out to your home to inspect. When a loan can't close due to value coming in substantially lower than anticipated, the appraisers normally will refund the Borrower's appraisal fee less the trip fee. In your case, it sounds like you paid for this appraisal and the fee less the 75.00 should be refunded to you. Is this correct?

Lenders and Brokers will quote you a loan product, rate, etc. IN GOOD FAITH but there is always the chance a home value will not support the loan product, program or rate.

You should speak to you loan officer and ask him/her if there is a chance they can restructure your loan by possibly ommiting some debts being paid off, lowering cash to you at Settlement, or possibly charging you a higher rate since your Loan to Value will be higher due to lower appraisal value.

If the loan won't make sense, simply ask your loan officer to call the appraiser and request a refund less trip charge for you since the loan is dead.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by ice5146

Lenders/Brokers don't just arbitrarily debit a potential Borrower's Bank Account for an appraisal fee. That's totally illegal and frankly I can't understand how anyone got access to your routing/account number without your knowledge.

Secondly, the 75.00 non-refundable fee is more than likely a "trip fee" for the appraiser coming out to your home to inspect. When a loan can't close due to value coming in substantially lower than anticipated, the appraisers normally will refund the Borrower's appraisal fee less the trip fee. In your case, it sounds like you paid for this appraisal and the fee less the 75.00 should be refunded to you. Is this correct?

Lenders and Brokers will quote you a loan product, rate, etc. IN GOOD FAITH but there is always the chance a home value will not support the loan product, program or rate.

You should speak to you loan officer and ask him/her if there is a chance they can restructure your loan by possibly ommiting some debts being paid off, lowering cash to you at Settlement, or possibly charging you a higher rate since your Loan to Value will be higher due to lower appraisal value.

If the loan won't make sense, simply ask your loan officer to call the appraiser and request a refund less trip charge for you since the loan is dead.

I hate to burst your bubble here but the appraiser is an independent entity that is hired to perform a service (appraise the property in question). If they did this (which apparently they did) they are due their fee regardless of the outcome of any other transaction. The $75 fee looks to be an aplication fee charged by the lender and would havve nothing to do with the appraiser.

Now if you can get your money back for the appraiser is a differnet story. It depends upon your contract with the lender. Many mortgage lenders tend to order the appraisal too early into the deal. There is nothing illegal about this, they usually do this to expedite the process.

[HUD-1]

If an appraiser went out and completed an appraisal, then the appraiser is owed the fee. The appraisal compensation cannot be two tiered, based on whether or not they come up with a value that makes a deal work.

[ice5146]

No where in my post did I say the appraiser was not entitled to his fee. You're not burstin any bubble here so you can exhale now.

I know what an appraiser is, you don't need to explain it to me. I believe my post gave nothing but great advice and I feel that if the borrower asks the loan officer to request the refund less then trip charge, they will probably get it.

As a National Broker, this has worked for every fall out loan I have ever had. Not that there were more than a handful but I requested this for my borrowers and my appraisers fulfilled the request as they were eager to earn more business from me.

And not to burst your bubble but no where in the OP did it state that the 75.00 was an Application Fee and I don't even know of a Lender that charges 75.00 for an Application Fee. Most are over 295.00 if there is one at all.

Now maybe you can tell me what appraiser is ENTITLED to auto-deducting an appraisal fee from a potential borrower's bank account without their knowledge. Same goes for the Lender/Broker on that matter.

[justalayman]

If you know appraisers that work for free, that's great. I truly believe inthe old you get what you pay for. The situation you describe comes very close to establishing a dangerous relationship.

As far as the $75 that I said "appears" to be a app fee. Well I have as much proof for my statement as you do for yours. Seeing that in this day and age of " a mortgage lender on every corner" fees like this range from $0 to "way too much."

The auto-deduct: where in the post does it state the OP did not agree to this. Until the OP states that they (knowingly and honestly) did not agree to this, neither of us have the info needed to make YOUR call.

Now as far as your advice. I never said not to do it. In fact it is actually good advice. The problem with it is it is all based upon a goodwill gesture. Nothing enforcable. Good if/when it works. When it doesn't the facts are needed to make a reasonable recommendation.

[ice5146]

OP asked the question, is there anyway to get the appraisal fee back. I was simply giving them advice on what to ask their loan officer as far as a request for reimbursement.

The auto-deduct was mentioned by OP in the fact that their bank account was charged the extra 325.00 appraisal fee without their knowledge. If it was charged, I'm assuming it was auto-deducted since the borrower obviously never wrote the check to appraiser for the additional 325.00 charge. That would have meant they were knowledgable.

I think they should just ask the loan officer to request the refund less trip fee. Or better yet, ask the LO to possibly restructure the loan so it may be a win-win for everyone involved monetarily.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by ice5146

OP asked the question, is there anyway to get the appraisal fee back. I was simply giving them advice on what to ask their loan officer as far as a request for reimbursement.

The auto-deduct was mentioned by OP in the fact that their bank account was charged the extra 325.00 appraisal fee without their knowledge. If it was charged, I'm assuming it was auto-deducted since the borrower obviously never wrote the check to appraiser for the additional 325.00 charge. That would have meant they were knowledgable.

I think they should just ask the loan officer to request the refund less trip fee. Or better yet, ask the LO to possibly restructure the loan so it may be a win-win for everyone involved monetarily.

As I stated, I do not disagree with asking. Don't know 'til you ask.

As far as the auto-deduct: many posters agree to things they are either not aware of or will not admit to. Granted this is cynical on my part but hey, " i call 'em like I see 'em. Without OP input, who knows for sure? Remember they stated they were charged without their knowledge. Was this a dishonest lender or a misunderstanding customer. How often do you NOT charge an appraisel fee of some sort.

[45Frank]

First go over the appraisal carefully. Make sure the comps are the same and they are up to date. I stated in a past post I had one done and info was 12-18 months old. He was to lazy and admitted that the tax office was only open 7-8 pm the first tuesday of the month. He used ones from his office mates, so to say. I even had to fight to get a copy when I knew it was way low.
Never did get my refund though he was a sub-contractor