Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Hi. Thank you in advance for your advice. When I was refinancing, my credit card was charged an appraisal fee. Without letting me know, the loan officer cancelled the loan when he didn't get the paperwork. He now refuses to refund the appraisal fee & ignores my request for document stating that I would forfeit the fee if the loan was cancelled. I was never informed of this fact. Am I entitled to the refund since the appraisal never took place and since I myself did not cancel the loan?

Asked on 1/07/10, 3:25 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

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If the appraisal was not done, you should be entitled to a refund; however, you need to review the documents you had signed up to that point. The appraisal fee may have been non-refundable. The fact that you did not cancel the loan is not going to help you - by failing to provide documents as required to underwrite the loan, you may have waived your rights to claim that you never "canceled" the loan - inaction can sometimes be the same as an overt action such as formally canceling the loan. That being said, you generally should not be held liable for an appraisal that was never done.

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Answered on 1/12/10, 4:18 pm

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