Home Appraiser s Guide to Avoiding Liability Lawsuits |
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| By Austin Appraiser |
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| The possibility of a complaints is real if you are a real
estate appraiser. There are lenders who are searching for
fall guys, notorious “investors” who are searching for a
suckers so as to commit rackets, and finance companies who
always demand you for higher values. There are only a few
options on how to deal with this risk. 1.) Avoidance. Don’t do anything that would make you a liable mark. 2.) Shift. Shift the liability to somebody else, such as the customer or the purchaser. 3.) Be in charge. The justice system is your ally; employ it to your advantage. Get an insurance company that is highly regarded to support you. 4.) Recognition. Don’t Deny the fact that the threat is true and get yourself insured with an insurance company. 5.) Pay no attention it. Act as if it never occurred and pray it never will. 6.) Disappear. Change your profession to something that is less adversarial. The most common reasons for home appraiser lawsuits and legal actions are: 1.) Failing to discover and report improvement and site flaws. On purchase appraisals, it is an excellent idea to obtain the Seller’s Disclosure forms that were signed if you request for a copy of the purchase agreement. Include a note to the appraisal that shows that the appraiser has examined the Seller’s Disclosure Statement. Make sure that you obtain a copy of the Seller’s Disclosure Statement. While conduction the inspection, ask the seller if he is aware of any mold issues. As soon as the check up is complete, the seller can review, answer, and sign the appraiser’s form. 2.) Wrong estimation of the living area. Don’t simply depend on information from the previous appraiser, data taken from the MLS system, county records, or plans from the architect. As soon as the appraiser obtains a set of plans for planned construction, the plans should be confirmed with CAD software to verify the size of the living area. It would be too late if you will wait for the information obtained after the final examination. If the subject has an addition to the living area, such as an enclosed carport/garage or porch, this area should at all times be separated in the sketch and in the report – even if the area is given equal contributory value. All modifications to the living area even though the calculated area remains the same should be noted separately in the report and on a separate sketch. 3.) Did not report leakage of the roof, settlement, basements that are wet, infestation of termites and mechanical defects. 4.) Increasing or lowering the value of a property. You are likely to cheat if you don’t have the required skill and E&O will not protect you if found guilty. Appraisers who are inexperienced with their duties and responsibilities are likely to be charged with fraud. 5.) You are appraising the wrong house. 6.) You did not verify, period. The whole thing in the FNMA 1004 form should’ve been confirmed. Appraisals should be full of verification. 7.) Slander. The review appraiser degrading the appraiser instead of the report itself, therefore the appraiser defamed sues the review appraiser. As an appraiser, you can avert any litigation if you are aware of the dangers regarding your appraisal and steer clear of them as much as possible. |
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| Article Source: http://interpret.zar.vg | ||||
| About The Author This article was written by Bill Cobb with the assistance of Chandler Smith. William owns Accurate Valuations Group and has been licensed as a real estate appraiser for 15 years now primarily in the Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana area. For more information on Bill Cobb and Accurate Valuations Group, visit Baton Rouge Louisiana Home Appraiser. Chandler Smith is a talented real estate expert in the Houston area. He maintains |
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