Are online appraisals legal?
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Are online appraisals legal?
I recently tried refianacing my mortgage. However, the mortgage company told me that my house appraised for to low. When i questioned them as to how they came up with the value they informed me that they used 3 different websites and based on that information they didn’t feel it was necessary to even drive past my house, let alone actually come in.
Asked on May 28, 2009 under Real Estate Law, New Jersey
Answers:
J.V., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
unfortunately they do have the right to appraise the home based on this type of on line research. What yo should do is speak to someone at the bank. Oftentimes they will accept an actual appraisal conducted by an uninterested third party appraiser. Be carefully because the banks tend to only accept certain appraisers reports and again I cannot guarantee the bank accepts this however it would be worth pursuing
An appraisal runs around 300.00 and if the money is worth spending to refinance than call and speak to the individual who would handle this matter. You also should explain why a drive by or internal inspection would provide a different result if there is a valid reason such as extensive improvements etc. Good luck
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