Effective May 1,2009 the rule on how appraisals are ordered is changing. In the past the lender might ask the selling agent and/or the buyers agent who they wanted to use for an appraiser. As long as their was an agreement, and if that appraiser wasn’t too busy at the time, the lender would order the appraisal.
The new rule is federally mandated and is meant to keep any conflict of interest on the part of the appraiser out of the transaction. Lenders are creating different systems to deal with the new change. Some lenders will “out-source” the appraiser selection a bid system on the Internet, which is how Wells Fargo currently does it. Some lenders will simply rotate through an “approved” appraiser list. This is the way the VA does it now. This way the agents never know which appraiser they will get on a transaction…they simply get the next person in the rotation.
The system doesn’t reward appraisers who work harder or faster by giving them more work, unfortunately. And there are some appraisers who are known as “specialists” on certain types of property. The new system won’t allow Realtors to choose someone who is particularly knowledgeable, but basically lowers the bar and assumes all appraisers are equal. I’m sure the lenders are trying to err on the side of conservative to insure the values and property condition are met.
