Who is the appraiser anyway? How did they get picked? How did they come into the transaction? What did they know?
One of the most commonly asked questions about an appraiser or the appraisal process, especially if it’s not going the way everyone wants it to go is,” Who the heck is this person anyhow?”.
Appraisers are not just real estate agents. So in terms of “just” a real estate agent, they actually go through a lot of the same or similar licensing process, but they also have to apprentice under another appraiser for a period of time. So, they have to really not only do their homework, but take a lot of exams, and they are constantly having to update their information and their knowledge to make sure that they are doing their job correctly. They have a lot of responsibility, and nobody picks them. So back in the olden days, it used to be that if an appraiser worked in a particular area, the lender and or the agents can say, Hey, we should have SO and SO appraised this property, they know the neighborhood, maybe I’ve known them for 10 years, they live in the neighborhood, or they work a lot in this county or municipality. After the mortgage crisis of ’07/’08, the consumer protections that were put into place after that made it so those appraisers were chosen almost by a lottery. It’s like their name just gets spit out as this is who does it. Because they want to make sure that it is a totally unbiased opinion of value.
Follow along to the rest of my series on appraisals and get all the information about who they work for, why they do what they do and how it affects you. When you are in the midst of a real estate transaction.