This company employs completely inexperienced and rude appraisers. Their appraiser revised an appraisal and lowered appraised value on our house by $400,000 for reasons that are completely unknown. If your lender uses this appraiser you are in for a shock and in for a rude appraiser come into your house, rush through your home, not listen to a WORD you say, and leave and give you not only a LOWBALL appraisal but an appraisal that is nowhere near in line with market trends. They are truly horrible. read more

Every consumer refinancing thinks their home is worth eight zillion dollars, then when the appraisal comes in at reality they find something to complain about. Facts: - All appraisers are curt and to the point. - Appraisers do not give market value to the memories a family had in a home. - Appraisers are math and fact based, not squishy emotion based, or aesthetic. - Price per square foot is for zillow numbers, it does not drive actual appraised values -- anywhere, with any set of appraisers. - A $50k kitchen upgrade almost never adds $50k in value to the home. This is a fact, the randomly assigned appraiser doesn't change that. These are true for ALL appraisers, that's just a quick "appraisals 101," so go ahead and disregard any negative review that complains about that, since those should just be complaints about how residential real estate appraisals work in the United States in general, they aren't gripes specific to Apple. Apple is an appraisal *management company,* appraisers are all independent contractors. I'm reviewing the AMC as an appraisal *management company,* not as an appraiser (since you don't get to cherry pick the appraiser anyways). The question is about Apple and how well they manage appraisers, it's not a question of if appraisers tend to be curt, quick, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am types (because they all are that, that's just the personality type attracted to the profession). I've used Apple Appraisal for years, I'm a local mortgage broker. Across several hundred transactions (this isn't based on my one anecdote from my one refinance), they are, by far, the best local appraisal management company in California. Period, full stop. Consistently, in the *management of appraisers and appraisal orders:* (again, they are not an appraisal company, they are an appraisal *management* company, and it's their management of appraisers and appraisals, that is the only fair thing to review). - Their fees are very aggressive relative to market, saving clients money. - Their turntimes are unusually fast, and when needed their "rush fees" are unusually cost effective. - No one is going to guarantee that all appraisals will hit whatever value is needed (there's be no point in having appraisals, otherwise), but Apple's panel of appraisers is far above average in terms of competence. When an Apple appraisal comes in low, which is VERY rare (the purchase contract is a data point, after all, and we're excluding refis here), it's generally quite justified by the actual available data and the rules/standards that appraisers have to follow. - If there's a question or issue, I as the loan originator can call and get a non-call-center human person. That cannot be said of any of the big national appraisal management companies, who incidentally are more expensive, slower, and have less competent appraisers on their panel. read more

Im very disappointed with Apple. I personally had a appraiser issue with the appraiser entering my personal property without authorization. I clearly told the appraiser not to go prior to Thursday and he entered the property on Wednesday. We had work being done and it wasn't ready for inspection. I spoke to Kathryn and she seemed to he on trying to find her "preferred appraiser" in the area. She never called me back. I followed up twice via phone this morning. I was told she was out of the office only to get a email seconds later with a request to approve another $300 for a rush that would get my appraisal back on 10/20. I was very disappointed called again and Kathryn said we will just cancel the order then. She said the appraiser said i cancelled the order i never told the appraiser to cancel but we would need to wait to finish my floors now. It seems that now apple has requested to cancel me being able to send appraisal orders to them. Big loss for them. I been in business for a long time and this is disappointing that they would do this. read more

Was refinancing my mortgage. The company asked me to pay $450 for the appraisal; wasn't sure who is honest and fair, so I let my broker pick the appraisal company. BIG MISTAKE. Apple Appraisal sent an individual who literally spent about 30 min, took some pictures and came in at least $100k below few homes recently sold on my street. His comps were not even included in the analysis and he included homes sold last year. Well... the market is different and you would think an appraisal company would know. I do not recommend this company nor their individual appraisers, as they lack common sense! read more

I was in the same position as other reviewers here. If you find out that your lender is using Apple Appraisals, insist on another appraiser or change lenders. Your transaction or refinance may completely get blown up, and you'll be have to cut them a check anyway. The appraisal on our transaction came in over $100K less than the agreed upon purchase price. This is on a house that had over 11 offers above asking. Apple appraisers clearly don't understand markets outside of Contra Costa. Apple willfully ignored numerous comps from the nearby neighborhood, all of which had higher $/sq. ft. than ours. They used a comp from a house that had a front yard facing the freeway, and used the asking price on another unsold house in a market where transactions routinely go 20% over asking. Despite an appeal, showing numerous comps that they had missed, Apple refused to acknowledge their incompetence. Although our comps were more recent and within 1/2 a mile from the house, Apple claimed they weren't relevant. Do yourself a favor and steer clear. read more

Anthony Blackburn is an amazing Appraiser. I needed an Appraisal done on a tight deadline and he went out over the weekend for inspection, and it was complete 2 days later. That is amazing service and I prefer to work with this company again in the Future.. Nate Smith - PrimeLending. read more

I just filed a complaint with the State Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. I urge anyone else that has had a bad and unfair experience with Apple Appraisal to do the same. Let's put companies like this out of business. http://www.orea.ca.gov/forms/REA_6001.pdf read more

I read their reviews on Yelp just a couple of days before my mortgage company ordered the appraisal through these guys. I am usually good in following the yelp reviews as they have never put me in a false situation for a high reviewed business. I should have listened to Hari's post. Same thing happened to me in a same situation - like lightning doesn't hit the same place twice, I dont think this is a fluke. I don't know what crappy comparables these guys took, the appraisal came about $40k short than the original estimates from other banks such as Chase, Well Fargo, BOA. I would definitely advise other fellow yelpers to ensure that you DO NOT get your home appraised by these guys! If your lender is choosing these guys for a refi situation, then advise him/her for someone else to do your appraisal - or you can kiss your $450 good bye and not get a fair appraisal! ----------------------- I would give them a 1.5 star for trying (after the fact, of course) to explain their point of view as of why my property is not what the other independent appraisers assessed (BOA, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.). They did, in fact, as for a comparable that I thought should have been included in assessment of my property. I just gave them one of the ones that I distinctly remember which was there in the comparables of the other appraisers. They did come back and provided line by line justification of why they thought my property did not compare to that. But that was just one example. They were the ones who did my initial appraisal in 2013 and they were pretty much on the dot (same as what other appraisers assessed) during that time (so, I would add a 0.5 star to my review for that time) which is why I am more perplexed as to why such as big variance in just a year. read more

We had one of the CEOs do the appraisal on our property. Although professional, his appraisal was really off. He used a boarded-up property down the street as a comparable and did not disclose that is was a boarded-up, uninhabitable property. We approached him nicely and asked him to re-evaluate, he refused. Very unsatisfied for the amount of money we paid (one of the most expensive appraisals). read more

Omg! They are the worst home appraisals you'd ever come up against. If the lender sends you to them run the other way! They came in at the lowest appraisal for a home in the most desirable place in San Jose California. Anthony Blackburn said the appraiser has the last word. Appraisers decision. Gave us some bullshit on doing an appeal. They are a scam. Also do not do business with fmc lending inc! Also a scam! Waste your time. It's horrible. read more

Have ordered several appraisals from this company. Every time we use them they drag their feet and come up with a excuse why they have not completed appraisal. I am going to find a company that can accommodate my abundant escrows as I am tired of getting extensions for them. Maybe they will actually read reviews and try to put service back in their equation. read more

My appraisal was approximately $100k below what I feel it should've been. Will definitely be filing a complaint with the California Bureau of real estate appraisers. read more

Apple Appraisals has struck again. Don't do it! Don't do it! Find someone else to conduct your appraisal. Everyone's comments here are 100% true. The CEO conducted my appraisal. He is just plain incompetent. My condo was 95% upgraded and he appraised my unit way below the lowest average, he compared my property to pending sales and not actual sales, the same exact unit next door to me sold for 15K more than what he appraised my property for and it had 0% upgrades. THIS WAS ALL BAD. My property was appraised at least 30K below the market value for my area. I will also be filling a complaint with the CA States Board of Real Estate Appraisers. This company has to go.!!!!!!!! Updated 8/13/15 This company doesn't even deserve 1 star. The appraisal was challenged by the mortgage firm and Apple Appraisal increased the appraised amount by $10K. Who has ever heard of such a thing? This just proves the initial report was erroneous and that this firm is incompetent of providing appraisals. The true value of the property is still not known. read more

I have used and recommended Apple Appraisal on many occasions. I find their work to be very accurate. They are prompt and professional, in both the field work and in delivering the reports. In reading a number of other reviews here, it's clear that there are sour grapes, and people who likely don't understand the appraisal process and how individual attributes of a home affect valuations. read more

Provided a lightening quick appraisal on a home I was seeking to buy in the East Bay with a fourteen day close promised to the sellers (who had two compelling backup offers). Apple was on the property site the very next day and had their appraisal complete and within $2K of my offer price by end of business. Their comps were accurate and included another property I had bid on (and lost) the prior week, further validating my purchase decision. Highly recommended. read more

**DO NOT USE THIS FIRM FOR AN APPRAISAL. ** Anthony Blackburn the CEO, is a very unpleasant person to deal with, not family with the area (Oakland), not willing to answer my questions, and not familiar with how to deal with a mother-in-law unit. When I tried calling him after 6 phone calls, he says he can't talk to me by law. This is not true and if actually reads (if he can) section 1090.5 of the Appraisal Independence Law's it allows people with of interest to (1) Consider additional, appropriate property information, (2) Provide further detail, substantiation, or explanation for the appraiser's value conclusion, and (3) Correct errors in the appraisal report. He was unwilling to accept any additional input regarding the above criteria. I understand the industry is going through a correction because of overvalued homes, but this firm does not even compile with State Mandated requirements that protect him and the consumer. Sincerely, Unhappy Consumer read more

I have used Apple Appraisals for several years now for all my clients, Apple always does quality appraisals, and they have a roster of professional appraisers that specialize in each market. Great service and quality, not too common these days. I highly recommend them for any of your SFR and Multi Family Appraisals. read more