Ugh! Why are appraisals so expensive??

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Ugh! Why are appraisals so expensive??
2
Wed, 04-27-2005 - 3:10pm


We are trying to get our PMI cancelled on our mortgage, which would free up $114 every month in our budget. We have Chase Manhattan for our mortgage, and they will only cancel our PMI if we can prove that our home's current value is high enough to give us our "20% paid" status. Well, our home, when we purchased it, was priced at 158K. Now, homes in our neighborhood are selling into the 210's and 220's, based on the style of the home. We only need the value of our home to appraise at less than $8000 above it's original 158K value to be able to drop our PMI, meaning the appraisal would have to come back at $166K, which I know will happen, easily.

BUT...I got a call today from Chase's "approved appraiser", and they wanted $420 up front before ever coming out. I knew they'd want payment in advance, so that wasn't a surprise. The $420 was! Wow! Just for them to walk around the exterior of my home? They're not even going to come into the house...just walk the perimeter, check out the property to see how big the yard is, and then look at comparable properties in our neighborhood to see what they are worth, etc...and that's it. Then they submit their report to Chase, and send an email to me at the same time....for $420!

I'm just going to keep telling myself that once we have our PMI dropped, we will be able to recover the $420 in less than four months. Now I've got to head out to the bank and move the $420 from our checking to our credit card (both are with the same bank) so the money will be there when the actual charge appears on our card.

They say the appraiser will contact me to schedule an appointment within 48 hours. I'm eager to have this thing over and done with and no longer see that PMI. :-D

Pat

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 04-27-2005 - 3:32pm

Yeah, that's pretty steep. Looks like they don't want you to cancel that PMI, and why wouldn't they? It's a major cash cow for them, no benefit for you.

Find out if they'll let you hire an independent appraiser. Might be considerably cheaper.

Good luck. And keep your chin up--it's going to be so great to not be sending that money down the drain each month!

:)

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-2003
Fri, 04-29-2005 - 10:43am
I hope you dind't go through Chase. Have you thought of a refinance through someone else and get rid of Chase? Maybe you can get an even better rate especially if your credit has improved. My appraisal was only $350. $420 sounds steep. Try a mortgage broker, a reputable one recommended by someone. I went through a broker this time, not a bank. They really don't treat people as well. Why give them business?