Patrick- I do a lot of Broker Price Opinions and have found that lenders really don't want more then basic information on a property.. even those that are going into foreclosure or short sale status

You make an interesting argument that would make an appraiser's life easier but I don't see that  bank would be willing to lend money based on a range of value.  Still, I do like your idea.

In reality the bank is determining the final sales price of our properties.  We can get them under contract for whatever the parties agree on.  However when the appraiser shows up at the door all bets are off.  Just had one where we were 9K above the appraised value.  Now where did that come from? Well someone had dumped a flip in December at 50K below the list price.  6 months ago we would have been able to get the appraiser to drop that comp and pick up a higher one.  Not now.   I keep telling consumers that if you have had your house on the market for over 60-90 days you need to go back and take another look at the comps.  The times of sliding an over-priced house past the lender are gone. 

Patrick, Your analytical mind has taken an interesting turn here. How hard it is to fight the system even when a much better idea (yours) comes along. No, you are not nuts or even naive. Dreamer? Maybe. Just wondering  -- what are your thoughts on what it would take to change this?

Patrick - Perhaps a course in  Fundamentals of Real Estate Appraisal  is in order.  The market dictates value, not the contract or sales price.  In 1987, The Appraisal Foundation came into being and was authorized by Congress as the source of Appraisal Standards.  The  Appraisal Standards Board established the rules for developing and reporting appraisals and enforces the  Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) which all appraisers must abide by and is also used by state and federal regulatory agencies.

Appraisers do appraise real estate, not contracts.  However, the information in the contract is required to be included in the report along with any prior transfers within the past 3 years, and any current, prior, expired, or cancelled listings for the subject property.  There are also many other factors (besides properties sold) needed to determine an estimate of value or the probable monetary value of a specific property on the open market (definition of an appraisal).  To analyze all the factors and information necessary to determine a value (not value range), the appraiser needs the abilities of an economist, city planner, surveyor, r/e developer, builder, and broker along with knowledge of concepts, legal rights and interests, property ownership, market analysis, value principles, financing, valuation approaches, construction costs, capitalization techniques, statistics, depreciation, topography, reproduction and replacement costs, and value principles, just to name a few, for any of the various types of appraisal assignments requested.

The information above, along with 18 months of training, is just the  tip of the iceberg  to become a licensed appraiser.  The requirements increase even more to be a certified appraiser and greatly increase to be a certified general appraiser.   If r/e professionals want to make the job easier for appraisers, they can start by cleaning up their listings to reflect accurate information (starting with the correct square footage of the property) for when an appraiser researches information of possible comparables.  Bottom line there is a lot more to determining value than pulling sold and active listings in an area and slapping three letters (CMA) on a printout to present to a property owner.

David,

I am not attacking appraisers. If anything, I defend them. I would like to see the SYSTEM improved so that funny business does not happen, and when someone tries it, I want the appraisers to have back up against being taken to the "whipping post" for a SYSTEMIC problem. Too often, the appraisers are falesely accused of "stuff" they did not do. I would hope you agree on that point...

Patrick - I was an appraiser for 25 years before I recently returned to sales.

There is NO (please notice the capital letters, bold and underline) way to "clean up" appraisals.  For purposes of emphasis I would like to restate the point - it cannot be done.

A.  Lenders want their fees - appraisers who do not bring in the numbers will not only be dismissed by the lender but the word is put out to other lenders not to use them.

B.  Real estate agents want their commissions - lenders who do not provide appraisals that ensure those commissions will not be used by the agents.

Members of Congress and State Legislators want their PAC money - If they diligently enforce appraisal regulations and loss in revenues result to A. and B. above, funds from MBA, NAR, etc. et al, ad naseum will be dry up.

If the system is "locked in the ice of corruption" (and, IMHO, it most certainly is), the thawing has to begin from the top down and not with poor schmuk at the bottom.

Ain't gonna happen.