[StBernard] LRA heading down the "wrong" Road Home...again!

[Westley Annis]

Westley,
 
I've just learned of something interesting - but not good - is coming down
the ol' pipe from the LRA.  Today, I was contacted by a financial company
called First American.  To spare you a long story of what they do, basically
they work a lot of the financial end regarding LRA Road Home loans/grants
etc.  They contacted me to see if I was interested in appraising distressed
properties in the metro New Orleans area to determine pre-Katrina market
values for those homeowners who have applied for assistance from the LRA.
 
The young lady from First American (or "AppraiseIt" as it is also known) was
trying to sell me on joining their "appraisers team list" - for a hefty  fee
I might add - telling me I would be sent appraisal jobs to perform if I
joined their "team" and paid the sign up cost.  It has become my nature as I
get older to not beat around the bush, so I cut her off and asked the big
question.....how much would I be paid for doing an appraisal?  I followed
that question up by asking what kind of an appraisal would they expect me to
perform.
 
Answer to the first question:  $150.  Now, let me say right off that no
"state certified" appraiser worth his or her weight in salt will do this for
$150.  If you're any good as an appraiser you should be very busy on a
week-to-week basis just handling the work load you get from regular
established clients like bank and mortgage companies.  If an established
appraiser has the time to do this for $150 then you have to wonder why they
don't have enough business from regular established clients.  You next have
to question how thorough an effort will be put forth for $150 when they have
their regular clients paying them more than twice that.  Some certified
appraisers might hand the job off to an apprentice, which I personally would
feel very uneasy about.  BUT, at this point I still wanted to give the
"benefit of the doubt" to First American.  So, asked the follow up
question.....what type of appraisal do they want the appraiser to perform.
 
Again, to spare you appraisal rhetoric, they basically want the appraiser to
perform what is commonly called a "drive by" appraisal - aka "exterior only"
appraisal.  This means the appraiser does not get out of his car to meaure
the remains of the house or slab to accurately determine square footage.
Nor does he speak personally with the homeowner to see any pre-Katrina
photos that might exist or to "gather information" from the owner on typical
features of the house.  The reason I put quotations around gather
information is because "that" is the single most important step in the
appraisal process.
 
At this point I told the young lady from First American that you "might" get
lucky and find some property data still listed in the local Multiple Listing
Service (MLS) but there won't be any info on 99% of the properties that will
need appraising for LRA.  She responded by saying, "well, we'll provide with
the best and most information we can gather on the subject.  All you need to
do is drive by to say you saw it and do an appraisal off that."  I laughed
and said "gathering information is the appraiser's job so we can VERIFY the
subject's value is based on."  Well, in the end I concluded what First
American is going to do is give vague information to the appraiser based on
the lot size and square footage of the "typical" or "average" home in a
given neighborhood.
 
Folks, let me say it is precisely that kind of figuring or "assumption" by
LRA staff that has caused the existing problem of low balling pre-Katrina
property values.  The young lady explained they are going about it that way
because it will take the appraiser less time and that way I or any other
appraiser might be willing to do the appraisal for only $150.  Well, you get
what you pay for, and more importantly, an appraisal will only be as
accurate as the amount of time an appraiser is willing to spend to be
thorough on his research and the verification of data used.
 
I can once again easily see countless people complaining about the values
coming from these "contracted" appraisals.  Particularly when your home had
1,800 square feet and First American tells the appraiser to base the value
off of 1,400 (which might be the average size home in the neighborhood).
Hasn't the LRA learned from this mistake already?  Yet, they appear to be
heading down the same road again because they're too cheap to pay for a
thorough and accurate appraisal - which could make the difference whether or
not a homeowner qualifies for any assistance and how much.
 
AND LET'S ADD ONE MORE STIR TO THE POT.....once again, you will be relying
on a value from "their" appraiser - the other side's expert opinion, not
yours.  I suspect many will believe the LRA will encourage "their"
contracted appraisers to be conservative on property values.  It is
understandable people will perceive a contracted appraiser to be working for
the LRA's interest - not yours.
 
I do not deny the fact that I am soliciting business from homeowners who
have applied for LRA assistance.  But, I'll further admit if you don't use
me, by all means use another independent appraiser to find out the estimated
market value of your home prior to Katrina.  It could make a big difference
in what you get out of the LRA.  Make certain the appraiser you use will
actually go out to the house to accurately measure it and collect all
pertinent data on the house.
 
Furthermore, I thought it to be somewhat cheeky of this First American group
to tell me, "if you pay us money, then we'll send you some appraisal work."
I'm also happy to report, over the past few days I've been contacted by a
few homeowners I've done pre-Katrina appraisals for just to tell me the LRA
not only accepted, but "approved" the value I determined on their homes.
That's good news to hear the LRA is going to work with applicants hiring
their own appraiser.
 
If you would like additional information or have further questions, please
feel to contact me via email or phone.   Good luck to all.
 
John Scurich
La. Certified Residential Appraiser
985-882-9421 (best line to call) / cell: 504-722-6662
email: scurich at bellsouth.net