It's taking FOREVER (again!)

Several weeks back my phone rang and a California City caller wanted to know if it was real that home loan appraisals were taking over a month. For her rural area, it was true. What’s that about?!

You heard my story about the out-of-town lender who wanted to charge a Tehachapi buyer $1000 to do an appraisal. After some creative suggestions, we were able to find someone to take the job for a more normal fee … But that report still took over three weeks to be completed. (As the seller on that deal, it’s been a long, itchy wait.)

Last week I had clients who are selling their home in Oregon. Their Realtor told them escrows are taking up to 90 days in that area, since there are such a limited number of appraisers in their three-county region. Holy cow.

Just for fun, let’s take a quick peak at what a national appraisal management company is quoting for turn times across the country. They confirm that Oregon and Maine are at about 30 days; Colorado and Washington are at 25 days; Wyoming is at 22 days; Arkansas, Wisconsin and Nebraska are at 20 days. Sounds like the whole country is in the same boat.

Please don’t hate your appraiser! We have no idea the pressures they are under when it comes to appraisal reviews. Lenders now run the report through a national database that compares it to all other appraisals ever done for that property, and if anything doesn’t match, the appraiser has to go back and explain why. And consider that while consumers are paying between $500-$600 for an appraisal, most of that is going to the appraisal management companies, and not to the person actually out in the field doing the research and leg work. Appraisers haven’t had an effective raise since I started in this field in 1990.

What to do? If you’re in a mortgage transaction, be sure to work closely with your mortgage advisor and respond promptly to requests for signing off on disclosures that begin your loan process. Then, get comfortable and trust the process. We’re all in this together.

Tammy Engel is your local Mortgage Advisor. She’s been working for your best interest since 1990 Reach her at 661/822-7325 for purchase, refinance, and reverse mortgage.