Would This Be Mortgage Fraud?

Posted by admin under: Main Dec 13

If a consumer, loan officer, or lender influences an appraiser to inflate the value of the home it is mortgage fraud, right? What if the lender influences the appraiser to intentionally come in low. Wouldn’t that be mortgage fraud too? If you read the story posted by this consumer, you would think she is the victim of the same treatment appraisers are losing their licenses for, even being subject to criminal prosecution.

This story seems criminal too, doesn’t it?

Have you heard of this? Two yeas ago I took out a $227,000 mortgage with Countrywide- based upon their appraisal of my home -$360,000. This month I decided it was time to refinance- suddenly their appraisers assess my home at $260,000. I live near the beach in Maine- where property values have not dropped as they have inn other areas. In addition, this 2007 appraisal cut out 1 room, 1/2 bath and 200square feet- Here is the best part- the 2005 appraisal and the 2007 appraisal were done by the same company! I called Countrywide and Landsafe and was told there is nothing I can do. My home was either overvalued in ‘05 or is being undervalued now. My mortgage broker told me that ‘they’ are coming down hard on appraisers to lowball the appraisals so as not to get consumers in over their heads with overinflated home equity values.
What do I do now? Houses around me with no land a have sold for $300-400 but no one at Landsafe or Countrywide seems to care that this appraisal is off base in so many ways…