Do Your Appraisal Reviews Make The Grade?

We asked our National Chief Appraiser Scott Sparks, a former National Chief Appraiser at one of the top 12 lending institutions to compile a short list of key concerns when it comes to appraisal reviews, and this is what he had to share.

The top four pitfalls your reviews should NOT contain.

1 – Unsupported opinions and/or conclusions. Opinions should be supported whenever possible, by empirical market evidence.  Otherwise it can become a “he said, she said” scenario.

2 – Emotion or accusation. Comments such as “This is the worst appraisal I have reviewed”, or “This was obviously an attempt to push the value so the lender could make the loan”, are always unacceptable.

3 – The same types of errors or deficiencies as reflected in the appraisal being reviewed.  If the review reflects the same types of weaknesses reflected in the appraisal, the credibility of the review/reviewer is diminished.

4 – Bias. If the review cannot be completed without bias, the assignment must be declined.

If you suspect that your reviews have fallen victim to any of these pitfalls contact us. Allstate utilizes only local certified review appraisers who possess proven geographic competency in the subject property’s market area, coupled with our intensive in-house Quality Control audit of each review, our reviews are second to none and have been proven to be highly effective for our clients.