Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

We are purchasing a home. The mortgage company did not give us a choice in appraisers and used one of their own to do an appraisal on the property we are looking at. The real estate comps are for a much lower price, so we did not expect the appraisal to come back for the exact amount that our loan is for. We are concerned that there may be a conflict of interest here since the mortgage bank used their own appraiser, who may be reflecting the bank's interest instead of being neutral. Is this unusual business practice or a conflict of interest to have a bank use their own appraiser to assess a house for a client? Is it a conflict of interest to not even give a client the option to choose?


Asked on 1/22/12, 6:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Yes, you might want to consider getting another completely independent appraisal to avoid locking yourself into a mortgage for what might be a substantially overvalued property that is out of line with prices for the same or similar properties in the local market.

And, if the second appraisal more or less confirms the comparative values for similar properties in the neighborhood, this is likely a deal you'll probably want to take a pass on.

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Answered on 1/23/12, 8:07 am


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