Home Appraisal Co review: Appraisal Scam for refi

BEWARE - IF YOU ARE BUYING A HOME OR TRYING TO REFINANCE. DO NOT USE THERESA LEICHNER FOX FROM FOXCO APPRAISAL SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH M&T BANK. ASK FOR A “QUALIFIED APPRAISER FROM YOUR AREA”. IF YOU REFINANCE IN VIRGINIA, ASK WHO THE APPRAISER IS GOING TO BE AS THIS COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN REFINANCING COSTS. MAKE SURE THEY USE AN APPRAISER FROM YOUR COUNTY AND KNOWS THE AREA!

ONE GOOD THING, MOST BANKS USE ETHICAL APPRAISERS. AS FAR AS I KNOW, ONLY M AND T BANK - M&T BANK IS USING THERESA LEICHNER FOX FROM FOXCO APPRAISAL SERVICES. THE SCAM IS AS FOLLOWS:

M&T BANK PROMISES YOU A LOW RATE / DISCOUNT POINTS TO REFINANCE. THEY SEND THEIR APPRAISER OUT TO APPRAISE YOUR HOME. THERESA LEICHNER FOX FROM FOXCO APPRAISAL SERVICES COMES OUT, SPENDS TWENTY MINUTES INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOME (LARGE HOME ON A COUPLE OF ACRES), DOES NOT TAKE ANY NOTES ON THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF UPGRADES, APPRAISES YOUR HOME AT APPROX 25% OF WHAT YOUR PREVIOUS APPRAISAL OF A MONTH AGO WAS AND IN SHORT, MAKES M&T BANK THOUSANDS USING HER – YOUR CLOSING COSTS CHANGE DRAMATICALLY BECAUSE YOUR LOAN TO VALUE RATIO CONVENIENTLY CHANGES AND M&T WILL NOT BUDGE ONE INCH TO WORK WITH YOU. THIS SOUNDS LIKE CORRUPTION AND UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR RE BANKS AND THE APPRAISERS THEY ARE IN BED WITH.
ADDITIONALLY, THE LOAN OFFICER SAID SHE (THE APPRAISER) DID NOT KNOW HOW TO APPRAISE A CUSTOM HOME SO WE WERE PENALIZED IN THAT RESPECT, BUT THAT SHE HAS BEEN IN THE BUSINESS FOR TEN YEARS SO SHE IS QUALIFIED. DOES THIS MAKE SENSE TO YOU? I COULD GO ON AND ON BUT WON’T (NOT TOO MUCH).

If we had not had an appraisal done on our home exactly a month ago, we would not have questioned this but the difference between the two appraisals was about 25% and that is a big gap. This shows how SOME banks and unethical appraisers take advantage of you and you don’t even know it.

WHY WOULD M&T BANK WOULD SEND THIS TYPE OF APPRAISER OUT? THIS IS WHY - THEY GET HER CHEAP BECAUSE SHE IS OBVIOUSLY UNQUALIFIED, CAN BE BOUGHT (SHE IS GREEDY LIKE THE BANK) OR MAYBE SHE IS JUST STUPID, NOT SURE, AND CAN PROBABLY SQUEEZE IN 25 APPRAISALS IN A DAY ALL OVER THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. OUR FRIEND WHO IS ALSO REFINANCING SAID THEY HAD THE SAME KIND OF EXPERIENCE WITH HER. SHE GETS AROUND, EVEN IN THIS ECONOMY. SHE REALLY WORKS FOR THE BANK, RIGHT?

NO ONE WORKS FOR YOU EXCEPT YOURSELF – GET EDUCATED ON THIS – QUESTION EVERYTHING - GOOGLE THE BANKS / APPRAISERS YOU ARE GOING TO USE. DON'T LET THERESA LEICHNER FOX FROM FOXCO APPRAISAL SERVICES IN YOUR HOME UNLESS YOU HAVE MONEY TO BURN. GET A QUALIFIED APPRAISER FROM YOUR COUNTY WHO CAN WORK WITH CUSTOM HOMES. REMEMBER, YOU ARE PAYING FOR THIS / HER!