Appraisal Nation

We were set to buy our property in northeastern Arizona which is 120 acres and a 3 year old double wide mobile home. The property consists of (3) 40 acres parcels that are contiguous. The 40 acre parcel the house is on is level, has had a percolation test (there is a functional septic system) and has access to a main paved state highway (the highway actually cuts through the edge of the property). Land such as this routinely sells for over $1000 / acre. This 40 acres is probably worth $50,000 to 60,000 due to it's topography and location. The other two 40 acre parcels are probably worth about $500 / acre to give a total of $90,000 to $100,000 just for the land. The house being only 3 years old has got to be worth $200,000. The appraiser calculated a value of $181,000 for the entire property. Since the sales price was at $292,500, our original down payment was about $60,000. The mortgage company will not borrow more than the appraised value so this more than doubled our down payment to over $126,000. I would think that a company like Appraisal Nation would be more careful about who they allow to do appraisals for them. The guy in questions name is Mark Glade. I have talked to several real estate agents who are familiar with him and his incompetence. They said he always gives a low appraisal. We paid $2000 (they said because it was so large a property) for the low ball value and lengthy (it took over 2 months) time period to complete. If you are pointed towards this company by a mortgage broker, ask them to NOT hire Mark Glade as the appraiser or you will be singing the same song as this.

When I needed to switch lenders appraisal nation stated that the appraiser had declined to do whatever he needed to do in order to transfer the appraisal. After contacting the appraiser he said that that wasn’t the case, he had never even received the request and he would be happy to. After relaying that information to appraisal nation they then said that now THEY wouldn’t allow it and were requiring at least a drive by appraisal to be redone for an additional fee. Then after that was completed they then said that they now are going to require the appraiser to have access to the property, AGAIN, for another additional fee. This company is predatory and a scam to bilk you out of every cent they possibly can. Buyer beware!

The appraiser that this company set up to appraise the condo my son was going to buy, made us almost lose the contract. There were the exact same condo's in that area selling for $85,000-92,000. The asking price of the condo was 85,000, which was a fair price. The appraiser came back at $70,000! This condo was taken down to the studs 3 years ago.. put In new electrical, paint, carpet! The other condo's that were selling at the 85-92 price range were in worse shape. When our financial advisor contacted the company, they went back and forth with us and the end result (After submitting ANOTHER condo that closed THAT WEEK at 85,000) was that we could have the SAME appraiser go out and do another one... IF We paid over $300 more! The only explanation the appraiser would give is that the $92,000 Condo had a deck... so the old worn deck was worth $22,000? Again, this company said it was the appraisers opinion. This company agreed the appraiser was being unfair... yet still screwed my son over.

I wish I had a better review to give. My son has had to get an extension on the contract, which pushes us out over 3 weeks.. (He is getting married in 4). He has lost the ability to get a loan that helps with closing and down payment (Because in order to get a correct appraisal, we have have to switch lenders.) So now my 22 year old son is having to pay for college next semester and come up with $3000.

If you do decide to use this company... request they don't give you Travis White... He was horrible to work with and really screwed us over. I hope the other appraisers are better and a little more fair. It is hard enough to win a bid on a house.. to have to deal with this is ridiculous!

Appraisal Nation overcharged us stating we lived in a rural area, but our planner/zoning says suburban and we were charged $100 extraWe paid Appraisal Nation at first $450.00 to have an appraisal done on our house because we are refinancing, but then they came back and said we lived in a rural area and that it would be another $100.00 for this, so the lender that we originally had, which was [redacted] okay'd this charged. After getting the appraisal report back it clearly states that we live in a suburban area and it is zoned as suburban. I also called Mr. [redacted], City planner/zoning for our town of [redacted] and he looked it up in both the county of isle of [redacted] and town of [redacted] and said we definitely live in a suburban area and that Appraisal Nation could call him at XXX-XXX-XXXX and that he would tell them. I called Appraisal Nation and they didn't even want his number and refused to listen. They said they were using a site called [redacted], which says rural, but there are parts of isle of [redacted] that are rural and we do not live in them. The site that they used is also not up to date. We have confirmed this with our city planner and zoning that is Mr. [redacted] and it also states it on the appraisal that was done that we live in a suburban area, which they have a copy of this appraisal.Desired SettlementI would like a refund of our $100.00 that we paid when we have confirmed that we do not live in a rural area and they are charging this unfairly.Business Response Appraisal Nation takes great pride in our customer service. We take complaints seriously & research them thoroughly to determine validity, identify any errors made, & ultimately learn ways on how Appraisal Nation can improve. We are proud to say complaints regarding our service are infrequent & our client satisfaction rates exceed 90% annually.Appraisal Nation is a third party appraisal management company serving as an administrator & liaison between the lender & real estate appraiser. Complaints received are due in large part to misunderstandings of the regulations governing the appraisal industry, the complexity & multi-layers of the appraisal process, & the binding agreements made between the lender, vendor, & appraisal management company. The additional $100 appraisal fee referenced in the complaint is a predetermined & agreed upon ad-on established by Appraisal Nation & the lender. It is not unique to the subject property nor the complainant. It applies to any property classified as rural or underserved as defined in 12 CFR 1026.35(b)(2)(iv)(A) and (B) by the[redacted] Bureau ([redacted]).The [redacted] is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. Its jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors and other financial companies operating in the United States.Appraisal Nation is NOT stating the appraiser indicates the subject property is in a rural neighborhood, therefore, a $100 ad-on is applicable. However, our stance is the subject property is designated as rural or underserved for the year 2016 as defined in 12 CFR 1026.35(b)(2)(iv)(A) and (B) by [redacted], therefore the $100 ad-on applies. As indicated in the completed appraisal report the subject property's neighborhood characteristic is indeed suburban as determined by the appraiser. The $100 ad-on is based solely on the findings & classification determined by the [redacted] rural and underserved areas tool. The subject's classification can be verified by visiting http://www.consumerfinance.gov/rural-or-underserved-tool/. This $100 ad-on is predetermined & agreed upon by Appraisal Nation & the lender on all appraisal orders submitted & is determined by the findings of the [redacted] rural and underserved areas tool. This does not necessarily mean the subject property itself will be indicated as rural in an appraisal report. The appraiser & [redacted] are not using identical metrics to classify any given property. Furthermore, the rural and underserved areas tool may determine an area or county to be rural and underserved & these areas or counties may include some towns or cities that would be determined by an appraiser to be suburban. Again, the $100 ad-on is agreed upon & based specifically on the determination made by the [redacted].Appraisal Nation recognizes & understands how this can cause confusion to any given borrower. Particularly, if they are unfamiliar with the [redacted] & are not privy to the binding agreements made between the lender, vendor, & the appraisal management company. It is our hope the completed appraisal resulted in a successful refinance & that this response provided positive clarification to the borrower regarding this matter.Respectfully,Appraisal Nation Management & Ownership

Untimely delivery of a rush order appraisal, potentially delaying purchase of home.A RUSH appraisal was submitted to Appraisal Nation on Monday, December 8th 2014 for a home [redacted] Riverview, FL XXXXX) that my husband, [redacted], and I are purchasing. The company apparently ignored the rush term of the request, not even reaching out to us for payment until Thursday the 11th. Appraisers weren't assigned until Friday the 12th which apparently then starts the 48hour rush time clock (even though an entire business week had been wasted). They acted like they'd done US a favor by not charging for the rush even though we gladly would have paid it and that's why the rush was requested before they wasted so much of our time. The appraisal was performed on Monday the 15th with a report DUE on Wednesday the 17th. This morning, Thursday the 18th we still have no report even though we are supposed to CLOSE on the house TOMORROW and Appraisal Nation is still making excuses. This is a flip property and we need a second appraisal and obviously won't have time to pursue that before we close. We were lied to repeatedly by their agents saying that we would definitely get everything on time, that the rush hadn't been ignored, they thought they were talking to someone else and said they couldn't get ahold of the buyers for payment or scheduling even though we ARE the buyers and had no missed calls from them at all and paid promptly. They were contacting the wrong people for scheduling despite repeatedly being provided with the contact information for the correct person. It's been a complete mess and they have taken zero responsibility and just keep trying to pass the buck while delaying the purchase of our home right before the holidays when scheduling due to closed offices will make it exponentially more difficult. They shouldn't be allowed to do business like this in such a time sensitive industry. Unacceptable on all fronts.Desired SettlementI want some type of rebate for the complete waste of our time, horrible customer service and dishonesty that have been displayed every step of the way.Business Response /[redacted]/Appraisal Nation (AN) takes great pride in our customer service. We take complaints very seriously and research them thoroughly to determine validity, identify how errors were made, and ultimately learn ways on how we can improve as a company.We are proud to say that complaints regarding our service are infrequent and that our client satisfaction and retention rates always exceed 90% year after year.Complaints received are due in large part to a misunderstanding of the complexity and multi-layers of the appraisal process. AN is a third party appraisal management company(AMC). We are a liaison between the lender and appraiser. Federal laws prohibit what an AMC can discuss with the borrower even though the borrower owns the property being refinanced or will own the home being purchased. This can cause great aggravation with the borrower especially when they have personally paid money of of pocket and up front for the appraisal being completed. Again, we are bound by federal laws. AMCs do not make the rules but must abide by them.Many times appraisals are delayed for reasons beyond the lender, AMC, appraiser, and of course the borrower's control. Unfortunately the federal laws referenced above can leave the borrower in the dark during this process which understandably can cause frustration. It is a delicate situation considering that the largest investment most any consumer will ever make is the purchase of their home. In this situation the complainant states AN received a "RUSH appraisal..on Monday, December 8th..". In actuality the order for the requested appraisal was placed by the lender and time stamped on 12/09/2014 at 03:54:22 PM. We then opened communication with the lender first regarding the payment on 12/09/2014 at 03:55:28 PM. This is a required step with our client as per our signed service level agreement. We are not permitted to communicate with the borrower unless/until instructed to do so by the lender. We are also not permitted to proceed with the assignment until payment is obtained. Often times the lender has obtained credit card payment information from the borrower and submits payment via a secure online payment service. Appraisal Nation is then prompted to proceed with the request once payment is captured. Occasionally we are instructed to contact the borrower directly and obtain payment which is what our client advised us to do on 12/09/2014 at 07:58:31 PM. Our offices close at 8:00 PM so this instruction was not received until the morning of 12/10/2014.According to our transaction log a voice message was left for the borrower in an attempt to collect payment on 12/10/2014. The complainant states this did not take place. Human error plays a role in any company or department. We rely on our Client Service Representatives to provide accurate annotation each time they touch a file. Occasionally errors are made but these errors are infrequent. According to our records a message was left for the borrower on 12/10/2014. Our office was contacted the morning of 12/11/2014 and payment for the appraisal was captured. We then began taking the necessary steps of assigning the appraisal to a qualified local appraiser. This process requires our company to fully vet local appraisers to determine their qualifications, geographical competence, availability, etc... It is a tedious but necessary process that must be completed to ensure the appraisal is ultimately completed by a qualified appraiser who is approved by the lender for the specific loan type for the specific property being appraised in accordance with all state and federal laws. The appraisal order was assigned to a qualified appraiser on 12/12/2014 who agreed to complete and deliver the appraisal report on or before 12/17/2014. All appraisers who receive orders from AN are independent local contractors who are not employed by Appraisal Nation. They are vetted, scored, and ranked on each order assigned to them by our company to ensure high standards of customer service and quality are maintained. It should be noted that all appraisers are regulated and protected by both the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and the The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). Among a multitude of items covered under USPAP and Dodd-Frank the turn-around time and/or agreed upon delivery date of an appraisal report is one of the items the appraiser is granted leniency or forbearance. Despite a verbal or even signed commitment from the independent contractor, an appraiser is granted sufficient time to complete a credible report as determined by said appraiser. As previously mentioned AN does score and rank each independent contract on each appraisal completed. Overall turn around time is one of the competencies each appraiser is scored and ranked on by our company. This is in effort to assign appraisal orders to qualified appraisers who are reliable, dependable, and most importantly provide accurate appraisals. As referenced in this complaint there was no fee charged for a RUSH request. It is common throughout our industry that a RUSH (typically $50-$250) fee be paid to speed the delivery process of a report. Appraisal Nation makes every effort to reduce and when possible forgo any additional fees paid by the lender and/or borrower. Regardless of the fee paid (standard or rush), quality is never compromised and the delivery date is ultimately determined by the independent contractor (appraiser). Despite any predetermined or agreed upon terms the appraiser is granted sufficient time to produce a credible report regardless of loan terms/deadlines, quoted delivery date, etc... Yes this can seem quite unfair to the AMC as well as the lender, and especially to the borrower. However, the appraiser is protected by USPAP and Dodd-Frank regarding delivery time. For these reasons AN makes every effort not to charge or agree to RUSH fees as additional costs can only add aggravation if the independent contractor requires more time to deliver a credible appraisal that what was agreed upon. To continue, after the order was assigned to the appraiser on Friday, 12/12/2014, Appraisal Nation followed up with the appraiser each day until delivery of the report on 12/19/2014 (with the exception of Sunday, 12/13/2014, as our offices are closed on Sundays).Multiple calls and/or emails were made to the appraiser for updates regarding the inspection date, progress of the report, estimated deliver time, reasons from delay, etc... All information was shared with our client (the lender). If the appraiser failed to respond to our request for an update then this also was communicated to the client. All the while the appraiser advised Appraisal Nation that the report was on track to be delivered as agreed upon on 12/17/2014. When the report was not received on time the file was marked as "Special Care" in our system. This escalates the file out of the hands of a Client Service Representative and into a Team Leader and the Client Service Manger's queue. More than a dozen (17) attempts were made to communicate with the appraiser on 12/18/2014. That is 17 separate calls and 17 individual emails trying to get the appraiser to update us and deliver the report. With no response form the appraiser the Client Service Manager brought the file to the attention of our Vice President of Operations who personally began calling the appraiser the evening on 12/18/2014. Appraisal Nation was truly doing everything within our power to express the urgency of this matter to the independent contractor (appraiser). The appraiser's reason for delay was explained as him needing adequate time to find appropriate comparable sales and to further analyze the subject market to provide a quality finished product. The appraiser delivered the completed report to our offices on 12/19/2014 which we then reviewed and delivered to the lender on 12/19/2014.AN recognizes that the borrower generally has very little insight to the ins and outs of the loan and appraisal process. We understand how frustrating of a process it can be especially considering that the borrower is not made privy to all information. AN would like to mention that the lender involved with this loan is a reputable company. One of the absolute best in the business. Unfortunately not all loans go smoothly and even more unfortunate not all loans close. Many factors play a role in each loan and this lender does a phenomenal job navigating the process.Most consumers will rarely understand the complexities of the appraisal process nor do they care. AN completely understands and can empathize. The delays on this file involved many entities but what is certain is that it is in no fault of the borrower. For this reason and in the spirit of customer service AN has fully refunded the borrower's credit credit card.

Appraisal Nation charged for a service that was never completed and that I requested to be cancelled several times.I was working with a lender in order to finance a home mortgage and an appraisal was ordered through Appraisal Nation during that process. I decided not to proceed with that lender and requested that the order be cancelled by notifying the lender and Appraisal Nation directly on Aug 12. Throughout the following weeks I've followed up several times and have attempted to have the order cancelled and refunded by Appraisal Nation. Today, Sept 2, I receive notification that the appraisal has been completed for the order I requested be cancelled 21 days prior. Appraisal Nation has also informed me today that they do not have the intent to refund the order.Desired SettlementRefund of $450 applied to my credit card that was charged for the service.Business Response Appraisal Nation is a third party appraisal management company (AMC) serving as an administrator & liaison between the lender & real estate appraiser. As an AMC we administer a network of certified and licensed appraisers to fulfill real estate appraisal assignments on behalf of our client, the mortgage lending institution. Furthermore, all appraisals must comply with the Uniform [redacted] of [redacted] & the [redacted] Per [redacted] our "client" is the party or parties who engage, by employment or contract, an individual or company to complete an appraisal assignment. Appraisal Nation was engaged by the complainant's lender to complete an appraisal on the file in question. This engagement made the complainant's lender our client for this appraisal order. Our company must take direction from our client, the lending institution. It is our client with whom we are contractually bound. [redacted] are also limited, and often prohibited, as to what we may discuss/share with a borrower (the complainant) even though the borrower owns the property being refinanced or intends to own the home under contract. Understandably, this may cause aggravation for the borrower especially when they have personally paid money for the appraisal assignment. The appraisal order in question was placed in our system on 8/4/16. An appraisal inspection was scheduled with the point of contact provided with the order and successfully conducted by the appraiser on 8/11/16. The complainant, not our client, reached out to our Client Service team and advised he wished to cancel the appraisal order on 8/12/16. This is not an uncommon occurrence as we facilitate and manage over 50,000 appraisals annually. In some cases, the cancellation is then confirmed by our client. A partial or full refund is then applied depending on what stage in the process the cancellation was approved. Often, Appraisal Nation is advised by our client to disregard the cancellation request and proceed with completion. As stated, we must take final direction from our client on each appraisal order. Our Client Service team then provided a status update to our client advising of the cancellation request and asked for confirmation to cancel or proceed with the order. Appraisal Nation did not receive direction from our client regarding the cancellation until after the appraiser uploaded the completed report on 8/17/16.After thoroughly investigating this file it was determined that a breakdown in communication did occur. It is evident that this breakdown in communication is not the fault of the real estate appraiser nor the complainant. However, the appraiser assigned to this order did conduct preliminary research on the subject market as well as the subject property itself and completed the appraisal inspection on 8/11/16. This was before the communication from the complainant on 8/12/16 regarding the requested cancellation. Therefore, at minimum, the appraiser is owed for all work completed up until 8/12/16.A request to apply a partial refund of $250 to the credit or debit card on file has been submitted by Appraisal Nation to complainant's credit card company/financial institution. The remaining balance of $200 is to be applied for all work completed on the appraisal assignment up until 8/12/16.Appraisal Nation is committed to providing outstanding customer service and we regret the complainant had a negative experience. We truly understand the sensitivity of this situation and why the complainant would raise concern. It is our hope this response has provided needed clarification and positive resolution regarding the matter.Respectfully,Appraisal Nation Management & Ownership

My complaint is with Appraisal Nation for not providing a timely appraisal service as promised. I paid for the appraisal service #ANS-XXXXXX on 8/05/15 and the appraisal was scheduled for 8/07/15 at 3pm. I was told that the appraisal was due on Friday, 8/14/15. I realize that Appraisal Nation is a 3rd party coordinated through my lender and my lender confirmed the due date as well. As of 7pm on Monday, 8/17/15 I had not received the appraisal report. My lender communicated to me that the due date had been pushed to 4pm on 8/17. I called customer service at Appraisal Nation at this time and was told that they could not communicate directly to me but with my lender. I completely understand this, however, it does not change the fact that the service was paid for in advance and done on 8/07, promised on 8/14 and still no results provided to me as of close of business on 8/17. The delay in the receipt of the appraisal greatly impacts the time and scheduling of other pieces necessary in investigating a home by the end of the due dilligence period and completing all items necessary prior to closing.I work in the real estate industry and have commonly seen an appraisal completed and the report received within a 72 hour turn around period. I would suggest the quality and professionalism of the appraisers utilized in Western NC be reviewed by Appraisal Nation. This process has taken entirely too long.Desired SettlementThey need to complete the appraisal report ASAP and provide me with these results. They need to re-evaluate the appraiser used on my property and consider if they should no longer utilize their services. I paid for this service in advance in good faith it would be completed in a timely manner. Business Response /[redacted]/Appraisal Nation takes great pride in the customer service we provide to our clients. We take all complaints very seriously and research them thoroughly to determine validity, identify what errors were made, and ultimately learn ways on how we can improve as a company. Appraisal Nation is proud to say complaints regarding our service are infrequent and our client satisfaction and retention rates have exceeded 90% since our inception. As referenced in the complaint Appraisal Nation is a third party appraisal management company serving as a liaison between the lender and appraiser. We agree with the complainant in that the quality of the appraisers utilized by our company should be reviewed. All appraisers contracted by Appraisal Nation are fully vetted by our Vendor Management department. Once approved the appraiser's performance is graded/ scored on each appraisal order assigned to him/her. This scoring system includes multiple categories including quality, timeliness, communication, professionalism, etc... Appraisal orders are assigned to appraisers based on their overall performance score. Appraisal Nation also agrees the appraisal completed for the complainant should have been delivered in a timelier manner by the appraiser. We received a commitment from the appraiser that the completed report would be delivered, barring any unforeseen circumstances, by the indicated due date referenced. Appraisal Nation followed up with the appraiser throughout the life of the order in an attempt to keep our client accurately updated on the progress of the assignment. There were no extenuating circumstances brought to our attention by the appraiser. Therefore, we anticipated delivery of the report on time and updated our client accordingly. The appraiser simply failed to follow through on his obligation.The appraiser's performance score was negatively and significantly impacted due to the length of time to deliver, unreliable communication, and lack of professionalism displayed during the life of this assignment. This appraiser's performance score has now dropped below an acceptable range. We are pleased the appraisal report was ultimately completed and have a date/time stamp that the report was received the same day as the Revdex.com "Case Opened" date, 8/18/15 at 1:01 PM EST. Appraisal Nation is committed to providing outstanding customer service and we regret the complainant had a negative experience. It is our hope the completed appraisal report resulted in a favorable outcome for the complainant and/or borrower. Thank you kindly for your time!Consumer Response /[redacted]/Thank you for your response.Final Consumer Response /[redacted]/