fraudulent appraisal

[jannaborelli]

What is the name of your state? New jersey

I recently refinanced my home in August and had an appraisal done.
Received the information & was told that it appraises for $340,000.

A few weeks ago went & was looking into having the mortgage refinanced
again because we got our selves into a really bad mortgage. After having
(2) two appraisals done in 2 weeks, that no bank would touch up because
we owed more then what our house is worth. I was told by the last appraisal
company that the appraisal I had done in August was fraudulent.

Is there anything that I can do. My house was appraised for $40,000 more then
what the last company appraised it for. Plese help! I need to have someone
pay for what they did to my family!

[moburkes]

How is it that it was fraudulently appraised? What was the SELLING price of the home? What was the PURCHASE price of the home? What were the comps?

[jannaborelli]

The mortgage company that I am working with had their appraisal guy look at the appraisal which was done in August and he was not able to locate the comps that he used. The comps that the August appraisal used were fluffed. The houses did not sell for what was listed on the appraisal so there for that is where the word fraudulent comes to use. We originally purchased the house over four years ago at $150,000.

[moburkes]

Sue the appraiser. He should be covered by his E&O policy. What did you THINK that your house was worth? What made you think that?

[HUD-1]

If it is fact a fraudulent appraisal, refer the case to the State of New Jersey:

Board of Real Estate Appraisers
This board is responsible for the regulation of real estate appraisers in New Jersey. The category of licenses issued by the board include licensed real estate appraisers, residential appraisers, certified general appraisers and apprentice appraisers. To teach real estate appraiser courses, instructor designation must be approved by the board. Inquiries or complaints can be forwarded to Mr. James Hsu, Executive Director, Board of Real Estate Appraisers, P.O. Box 45032, Newark, N.J. 07101, (973) 504-6480.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by jannaborelli

The mortgage company that I am working with had their appraisal guy look at the appraisal which was done in August and he was not able to locate the comps that he used. The comps that the August appraisal used were fluffed. The houses did not sell for what was listed on the appraisal so there for that is where the word fraudulent comes to use. We originally purchased the house over four years ago at $150,000.

Explain the fluffing.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

Explain the fluffing.

But explain how you did not know that your house WASN'T worth $340k? I didn't realize that housing prices went up that much in NJ over 4 years.

Isn't it possible that OP will hold a portion of the responsibility?

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by moburkes

But explain how you did not know that your house WASN'T worth $340k? I didn't realize that housing prices went up that much in NJ over 4 years.

Isn't it possible that OP will hold a portion of the responsibility?

If it sounds too good to be true...well, you know the rest of the story.

[jannaborelli]

I believe that the August appraisal was fluffed because when I finally received a copy of it, a few weeks after the closing, I noticed the comps that were used. I do not believe that those houses were even being sold for the amount listed in the appraisal. I have been watching closly what is for sale in my town for some time know.

And how I found out that my house is not worth the $340k that it appraised for in August is because I had 2 appraisals done with in the last 3 weeks and both have come back much lower then $340k. The last company looked at the August appraisal and stated that it did not make sense or look to use true figures (comps).

[jannaborelli]

How can I make this right?

[moburkes]

Why didn't you notice BEFORE YOU REFI'D your mortage, that your house value was artificially high?

You were told in an earlier post what to do. If you want to, you can retain a local RE attorney. Hopefully the appraiser has E&O insurance.

HOW did you not know that the appraisal was fraudulent? HOW did you not have any idea that the value of your home did not truly MORE THAN DOUBLE in 4 years? Be prepared to answer these questions.

I have been watching closly what is for sale in my town for some time know.

So, you didn't know that then? What is the problem now?

[ice5146]

The appraisal is reviewed once it is submitting into Underwriting. The Lender doesn't just take an appraiser's word, there are checks and balances in place. If your appraisal value came in that high, mark my word they reviewed it.

Sounds like maybe you can't afford your "bad mortgage decision" and you may be looking for a scapegoat to get out of it? Just a thought. Bottom line, the comps used on that appraisal were verified closed sales and the value suported in Underwriting Review. It's obvious the appraiser wasn't on the Lender's Blacklist either since you actually closed your loan with that appraisal.

[moburkes]

I'll have to disagree. Here, predatory lending is a HUGE issue. Between the loan officers, the appraisers, the flippers, foreclosures are at an all time high. So, just because the loan funded, doesn't mean that part of the process wasn't fraudulent.