What if you don't agree with an appraisal?

Appraisers are required to be objective real estate observers, reporters, and analysts. Ethically, appraisers cannot accept an appraisal assignment contingent on a certain appraised value, direction in value, or minimum or maximum value.

If the appraisal was done for lending purposes and you think the appraiser has missed higher sales that could have been used in the appraisal, or missed valuable features in your home such as a remodeled kitchen, contact your loan officer with specific information such as the address of a sale.

If you think fraud was involved or the appraiser was very inexperienced, lazy, or just plain stupid, contact your state appraisal licensing agency. You will need to have more than "I think the value was too low (or too high)." You need the "why" also...didn't use nearby similar homes that sold recently, missed a swimming pool, etc.

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