"I'll Pay For Your Appraisal" From a Loan Provider
This is one of those commercial gambits I keep seeing that has nothing intrinsically wrong with it, and yet it is most often a tactic employed by the more costly loan providers. In short, sharks and scam artists.
The basic come-on is this: Loan provider offers to pay for your appraisal if you do the loan with them. They often use such come ons as "free appraisal!"
TANSTAAFL. Repeat after me. TANSTAAFL. There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. "Free" stuff has an ugly habit of being the most expensive there is, and this particular come-on is no exception. Offer you a few hundred with the left hand while picking multiple thousands out of your pocket with the right. If you want to be an educated consumer, engrave TANSTAAFL upon your soul.
What's going on here is that they are trying to make it look like you're getting something free. You're not. They may front the cash for the appraisal, but in all but a few cases you're going to get explicitly charged in the end. Even for those people whose final loan papers does not show an appraisal charge, they are charging it to you somewhere else. Odds are that they're charging it about ten times over somewhere else. Either in origination or yield spread, one way or another you are going to pay for this appraisal. Actually, you are likely going to pay for that appraisal several times over. People are strange about cash. Many folks, if told they don't have to lay out $300 to $500 for an appraisal, will choose loan providers where the proposed rate is 1/4 to one half a percent (or more!) higher than competing loans, with closing costs thousands of dollars higher. They are getting the cost of that appraisal all right. In this scenario, they're making half a point to one point more than anyone else on the same loan, plus all of the extra closing costs. That's if they're a broker. If they're a direct lender, the difference is between a point and a half and two and a half points, more if there's a prepayment penalty!
Low cost loan providers do not pay for your appraisal. The loan providers who pay for the appraisal are paying not only for your appraisal, but the appraisal of all the people who cancel, and a good margin besides. Not to mention that this loan provider completely controls the appraisal, leaving them in control of what happens if you actually notice their huge fees when you go to sign loan documents, and decide you want to go somewhere else. This is one of the ways that loan providers avoid competing on price, by pretending to give you something for free. I say "pretend" because they are not giving you anything for free. I do not understand that normally competent adults who are well aware what "free" really means in other contexts will think it means they're getting a benefit. But just like the "buy one, get one free" offers that jack the price up threefold first, this is only a good bargain if the few hundred dollars it saves you stays saved, rather than giving you $400 with one hand while taking $6000 with the other, through higher loan rates and costs. Rate and cost trade-offs on real estate loans vary constantly. You can't know what the best bargain is right now unless you price it out right now.
Caveat Emptor.
UPDATED here
Categories
Mortgages3 Comments
Logical failures (straw man, ad hominem, red herring, etcetera) will be pointed out - and I hope you'll point out any such errors I make as well. If there's something you don't understand, ask.
Nonetheless, the idea of comments should be constructive. Aim them at the issue, not the individual. Consider it a challenge to make your criticism constructive. Try to be respectful. Those who make a habit of trollish behavior will be banned.
Leave a comment
The Book on Mortgages Everyone Should Have
What Consumers Need To Know About Mortgages
The Book on Buying Real Estate Everyone Should Have
What Consumers Need To Know About Buying Real Estate
Buy My Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels!
Dan Melson Amazon Author Page
Dan Melson Author Page Books2Read
Links to free samples here
The Man From Empire
Man From Empire Books2Read link
A Guardian From Earth
Guardian From Earth Books2Read link
Empire and Earth
Empire and Earth Books2Read link
Working The Trenches
Working the Trenches Books2Read link
Rediscovery 4 novel set
Rediscovery 4 novel set Books2Read link
Preparing The Ground
Preparing the Ground Books2Read link
Building the People
Building the People Books2Read link
Setting The Board
Setting The Board Books2Read link
Moving The Pieces
Moving The Pieces Books2Read link
The Invention of Motherhood
Invention of Motherhood Books2Read link
The Price of Power
Price of Power Books2Read link
The End Of Childhood
The End of Childhood Books2Read link
The Fountains of Aescalon
The Fountains of Aescalon Books2Read link
The Monad Trap
The Monad Trap Books2Read link
The Gates To Faerie
The Gates To Faerie Books2Read link
Gifts Of The Mother
Gifts Of The Mother Books2Read link
C'mon! I need to pay for this website! If you want to buy or sell Real Estate in San Diego County, or get a loan anywhere in California, contact me! I cover San Diego County in person and all of California via internet, phone, fax, and overnight mail. If you want a loan or need a real estate agent
Professional Contact Information
Questions regarding this website:
dm (at) searchlight crusade (dot) net
(Eliminate the spaces and change parentheticals to the symbols, of course)
Essay Requests
If you don't see an answer to your question, please consider asking me via email. I'll bet money you're not the only one who wants to know!
Requests for reprint rights, same email: dm (at) searchlight crusade (dot) net!
Add this site to Technorati Favorites
Subscribe to Searchlight Crusade
My Links
-
Heavy Lifters
- Instapundit
- Hot Air
- Wizbang
- Victor Davis Hanson
- Q and O L Places I get to as often as I can
- Soldier's Angels
- The Anchoress
- Argghhh!
- Armies of Liberation R
- Asymmetrical Information
- Belmont Club
- Tim Blair
- Eject! Eject! Eject!
- Jihad Watch
- Michelle Malkin
- Neo-neocon
- Powerline
- Protein Wisdom
- Real Clear Politics
- Mark Steyn
- Strategy Page
- Vodkapundit
- Volokh Conspiracy Personal Finance, Economics and Business Sites
- Bloodhound Blog
- Financial Rounds
- Free Money Financea> Other sites I've linked and visit
- Ace of Spades
- Ann Althouse
- The Anti Idiotarian Rottweiler
- Atlas Shrugs
- Professor Bainbridge
- Baldilocks
- Beldar
- Blackfive
- Classical Values
- Coyote Blog
- Daily Pundit
- Drudge Report
- IMAO
- The Jawa Report
- Just One Minute
- Libertarian Leanings
- Liberty Papers
- Normblog
- Patterico's Pontifications
- Right Wing Nut House
- Samizdata
- SCOTUS Blog
- Stop the ACLU
- Unalienable Right Consumer and Research Sites
- Better Business Bureau
- Consumer Reports
- NASD Home
- California Department of Real Estate
- California Licensee Lookup
- California Department of Insurance
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
- Do Not Call Homepage
- IRS Charities Search
- Internet Fraud Complaint Center
- SEC Home Page
- Stop Mortgage Fraud
- Report Mortgage Fraud Debunking Many so-called Real Estate Gurus
- John T. Reed Worthwhile Web Comics
- Sluggy Freelance
- Day by Day It is site policy to list the main page of every site I reference. Sometimes the real world intervenes and I haven't gotten to it yet, or one falls through the cracks on a long post with multiple references. It is also site policy to list the main page of every site that lists this one on their equivalent roll, as well as the main page of all sites that are members of any of the same groups this site is a member of. Please send me an email with a link to the main page of your site if I've overlooked you (dm at the domain name). For the clue-challenged, note that it is a requirement for your link to appear on every page of your site, just like mine does, and I will not link to spam sites.
just a quick comment on the "free appraisal" topic. In a market like the one we are in today, no gamble comes without a price. When a lender offers to cover the free appraisal - if the appraisal comes in short, (in most cases) there is no more deal and the lender has lost anywhere from $300 to $750 on the cost for the appraisal. Much better from the clients perspective now isn't it? How many clients are willing to place that amount of money on the table and let it ride? Some lenders will.
DM: and to pay for those appraisals, the lender charges those who do go through with the loan a much higher margin. Are you playing around, or really shopping for the best loan? If you're playing around and don't want a mortgage, by all means go where you won't have to pay. If you want a good mortgage, it takes a certain amount of money, and if you face this in the first place, you'll come out with a better deal. I have seen the difference be well over a full point many times - and on the $400,000 property around here, keeping that $400 in your pocket just cost you $4000. Doesn't that make you feel great?
Great point! ( As in your advice - not the lenders charge). To the unrushed consumer (ie. those who have time to shop around and have time to play games), would you suggest using this free appraisal if numbers were tight as a means to see what their homes true value is? ...and once value is confirmed and deemed usable, then proceed to shop with other lenders for better pricing?
It's a waste of your escrow time and contingency time within escrow. They're not going to do it if you don't have a fully negotiated purchase contract, and once you do have a contract, that clock is ticking. CAR Default is a 17 day loan contingency - and most purchases have an appraisal contingency as well. Delaying applying for the loan you really want to perhaps save the appraisal fee isn't a good bet of your limited transaction time. Better to find an appraiser with their head on straight who'll give you a heads up that the comps don't support necessary value before he comes out and charges you the fee. I've got appraisers who will do this, because they'll still get the appraisal if I can save the transaction, and they'll also get future orders, because them doing this makes it orders of magnitude easier to save the transaction.
See my Article on the Appraisal http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/posts/1125496859.shtml