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Replies (11)
- Norm D Plume, "America Needs Nixon!"
- Contributions:1670
how on earth did they collect the appraisal fee before giving you the GFE? Illegal.
- Doug Hutchins, "90 day rate locks"
- Contributions:721
Wells Fargo doesn't need to worry about something as petty as the law Norm. Laws are meant for the rest of us, not them.
- Tim Mellor, "utahtim"
- Contributions:216
I agree that $709 for an appraisal is out of the normal. If the home was abnormally large or a multi-family home (because this adds an extra layer of complexity because they have to determine the market value based on income), then I could understand.
The first step I would take is to call the appraiser and find out why the bill was so large, did he do something extra that added to the cost? You should get some legal advice, but if you haven't signed anything then you probably have a good case. If the value is lower than what you think it should be, have an agent run some comps and see how those compare. You can always request (and pay for) another appraisal from a different company, but the appraisals are coming in pretty low all around. I'd be happy to help you with this if you need. Either way, let us know how it all turns out.
Thanks,
Tim
The first step I would take is to call the appraiser and find out why the bill was so large, did he do something extra that added to the cost? You should get some legal advice, but if you haven't signed anything then you probably have a good case. If the value is lower than what you think it should be, have an agent run some comps and see how those compare. You can always request (and pay for) another appraisal from a different company, but the appraisals are coming in pretty low all around. I'd be happy to help you with this if you need. Either way, let us know how it all turns out.
Thanks,
Tim
- Paul Mondello, "Paul Mondello"
- Contributions:2097
Is the charge on your credit card in the name of the appraisal management co. or Warg Fellows?
- Paul Mondello, "Paul Mondello"
- Contributions:2097
or?
- Corey Moser, "cmoser70"
- Contributions:7
There should be some type of evidence that you signed to authorize the charge, in most cases it would be a Borrower Signature Authorization. If you haven't signed and authorized this charge, then you should be able to dispute the charge with your credit card company and get your money back. As long as it was a credit card and not a debit card, your credit card company protects you as a consumer.
There are laws in place to protect the consumer in almost every avenue of mortgage lending. Truth in Lending Regulation prohibits the charge of an appraisal until after you've been able to review the good faith estimate and other finance charges of the loan.
Regarding your Loan to Value and alternative finance programs that don't require PMI; we have access to lending institutions that offer up to 90% of the appraised value with no Private Mortgage Insurance. That may be an alternative to the product this company can do for you.
There are laws in place to protect the consumer in almost every avenue of mortgage lending. Truth in Lending Regulation prohibits the charge of an appraisal until after you've been able to review the good faith estimate and other finance charges of the loan.
Regarding your Loan to Value and alternative finance programs that don't require PMI; we have access to lending institutions that offer up to 90% of the appraised value with no Private Mortgage Insurance. That may be an alternative to the product this company can do for you.
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25139
I would dispute the charge with your credit card company. Make sure to do it in writing and also make sure that you explain that both the amount of the charge and timing of the charge was NOT authorized by you.
Write an email to Wells and complain to the manager in that office. Then escalate it form there to the SVP of the mortgage department here. You may get passed to someone else, but making the call to corporate will get you a response.
It sounds like they were playing fast and loose. Over $700 for an appraisal is outrageous and not getting permission for the charge is even more so.
Write an email to Wells and complain to the manager in that office. Then escalate it form there to the SVP of the mortgage department here. You may get passed to someone else, but making the call to corporate will get you a response.
It sounds like they were playing fast and loose. Over $700 for an appraisal is outrageous and not getting permission for the charge is even more so.
- wayne lancaster, "funds2"
- Contributions:1177
Sounds like a misunderstanding ...... the charge for $709 is likely to include other admin fees that you should have known and agreed to upfront. I would contact loan officers supervisor and ask how they could justify a $709 charge for what was agreed to be a $450 appraisal fee. I would also asked how they could legally charge an appraisal fee prior to 3 days after an application. You would likely be successful disputing charge with your credit card company, but that should not be necessary as Wells should do the right thing. As far as appraisal being so low, you might want to get input from your Realtor on comparable sales data in your neighborhood to see if the appraisal was accurate. You have option of appealing appraisal or though not as likely getting another appraisal with different lender. That is risky without strong comparable sales but appraising property is not an exact science.......Let us know outcome.
- Rudi Hofmann, "LUXURY HOME LOANS CA"
- Contributions:7435
Doug in response to your comment, you might find this interesting: http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-15/business/28536236_1_mortgage-fees-full-replacement-value-default-judgment
Happy funding, Rudi
Happy funding, Rudi
- Emmett Clark, "emeryfed"
- Contributions:50
wow! that's insane. Definitely over priced unless they were doing rental analysis forms and other forms beyond the regular appraisal. The others are right - no way could they mail the GFE and have the appraiser there before it. 3 days waiting period unless they emailed it to you and you had logged in acknowledging receipt.
- John Farrell, "Mortgage by John"
- Contributions:10
Coming from BofA which seemed to do the same thing. You should be able to speak with the Loan Officer and/or Branch Mgr and if they are smart in keeping your business, they most likely will refund that portion of the money the agent didn't speak about.
Wells Fargo Refinance
Ok, so here's were it gets dicey. She told me the appraisal would be $450, charged to the credit card and then refunded and rolled up into the loan at closing. Ok, that's fine, but the before the good faith estimate arrived I had the appraisal people knocking on my door. I let them in, they did their thing for 15 minutes, because why would a multi-hundred dollar appraisal take any longer than 15 minutes. Ok, so before I even had a chance to look at the good faith estimate I get a charge on my credit card for $709.....$709 for an appraisal? Are you kidding me? HIGH WAY ROBBERY!!!! Not only that, but the appraisal came in so low that it's not even worth it to refinance any more because now I don't fall in the 80% of the loan category and will need to get PMI. So much for appraisals just being a formality.
So my question is this? How can I fight this? I am not going to pay $709 for a worthless appraisal when I was told it was going to be $450. I have not signed the GFE, so am I even legally responsible to pay for the appraisal? If I disputed this on my card would I win? I'm frustrated as it is that I will have to pay anything, but I'm a man of my word and if they brought the appraisal price down to $450...fine, I'll pay it grudgingly, but $709? No way, that's robbery......
Any advice from any lawyers on what would be the best course of action? Shouldn't the appraisal have been done AFTER I signed the GFE?
Thanks in advance!
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