refund for wrong type of appraisal
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refund for wrong type of appraisal
Process of buying a house on 13 acres. the house is in need of major repairs. started the process of a renovation loan. Had the build do up the plans for the addition and renovation. Our realtor said that going from the 2 bed 1 bath to a 4 bed 2.5 bath and increase sq ft by 4 times, comps in the area are between 350k to 400k. getting the house and 13 acres for under 100k and putting in 150k into the house. Bank said we needed a renovation appraisal which looks at current house and property and the planned renovations. We paid the appraisal fee. The appraisal came back at the current value without looking at the planned renovation. The bank says it looks like the appraiser did the wrong type. Now they want us to pay another appraisal fee and go to a different appraiser. Seems like either the bank coded it wrong or the appraiser did it wrong. Either way, I already paid for an appraisal once and did not get the appraisal type I was told I was getting. Should I be able to get a refund for this?
Asked on August 28, 2017 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Legally, if the bank ordered the wrong appraisal, they would have to pay for a new one; or if the bank ordered the correct one, but the appraiser performed the wrong appraisal, the appraiser would be responsible for the cost. The party that was at-fault in causing the wrong appraisal to be done is the party that legally would have to pay.
Practically, if neither will voluntarily pay, you'd have to sue both (both, since you as yet do not know who was responsible) and in court, determine who was at fault and get a judgment against them. This could easily cost more than the cost of the appraisal, and you'd have to bear the itigation cost yourself--that is, it is very unlikely to be cost effective to do this. You are probably best off ordering/paying for a new appraisal, while also seeing if there is anything your tax preparer can do with the excess cost on your taxes.
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