Mr Berger performed a VA appraisal a few weeks ago, on a property we were trying to purchase. The…read moreappraisal was a hideous joke. In the appraisal package, he had a blurb touting his 25 years of experience and claiming to be highly respected for his professional appraisals.
And yet, Fred Berger delivered a document full of errors.
The VA appraisal addressed the subject home, and 6 comp homes; 3 primary, and 3 secondary.
According to the VA, the primary comps should be NO OLDER than 6 months, unless no other comps are available.
2 of the 3 primary comps were 10 and 12 months old.
Perhaps there were no other newer comps were available? No... one of the secondary comps was as fresh as the dog crap from which Fred's appraisal was made. It was from a sale during the same month as the appraisal! And, there WERE other comparable properties in the area that had sold within the past 6 months that could have been used. There was NO need to include comps that were greater than 6 months old... yet, Mr Berger chose to do so.
The appraisal stated that the price per square foot of house (ppsf-h) was not supported by the ppsf-h of the 3 primary comps. The appraisal finding was based DIRECTLY on the square footage of the subject house and the comp homes. Consequently, the accuracy of the home sizes is of paramount importance.
Thus, it was with a sense of disgust and surprise that I found that not only was the subject home sq footage incorrect (Berger used 3,347 instead of the correct 3,274); but, 2 of the 3 primary comps were also listed with incorrect sq footages. Comp 1 showed 3,660 sq ft, when it was actually 3,220, and comp 2 showed 3,274, when it was actually 3,660.
I don't know HOW one man can screw up 3 out of 4 home square footages, but Mr Berger managed to do it. Do YOU want a man who can FAIL on 75% of his critical data elements, doing an appraisal for you?
The appraisal showed that the LA county tax assessor's data was the "Verification source", but apparently Mr Berger saw no reason to verify his data, because the correct data was sitting right there in the county assessor's system, and Mr Berger FAILED to confirm his work with the STATED verification source.
Mr Berger stated that "usable lot size" would be used, when appropriate. Yet, he used the full size of a .32 acre lot (13,989 sq ft) in the assessment of comp 3, when about 55% of that lot rests behind the back yard fence of the property, and consists of a significant upslope that's covered in drainage culverts. It's NOT usable to the property owner, and Mr Berger FAILED to correct for it. That error resulted in a $17,000 reduction in value on the property, making the subject home appear to be less valuable, in comparison.
The map of the comps looked very strange. I had been in the neighborhood several times, looking at various homes, and Mr Berger's map didn't fit at all with my recollection of the area. It took me a minute to figure things out... Mr Berger had the WRONG MAP, with the WRONG COMP homes! The homes we were looking at were in the Santa Clarita, CA area, and Mr Berger's comp map was a map of BAKERSFIELD, CA! 95 miles away!!!
Mr Berger claimed to have had 25 years of professional experience as an appraiser. Clearly, he has forgotten how to check his data. He's forgotten how to proof-read his work. He's forgotten how to make sure he puts the correct comp map in the proper appraisal package. He's forgotten how to select valid comps based on age.
And I'm out $497 that we spent on a piece-of-crap appraisal. Mr Berger's value for the house came in at $620k. A nearly identical home (same home sq footage, same age, same interior 5/4 setup for appraisal purposes, and 700 sq ft LESS lot) came out of a conventional appraisal with a $650k value. Mr Berger's appraisal was at least $20-30k low, and we lost the house because of his work. Had his appraisal came in with a reasonable number, we could likely have salvaged the deal.
You may not know who the appraiser is going to be, if you order a VA appraisal, but if you're considering using him for any work, I advise you to look elsewhere. He FAILED badly enough on our appraisal that the VA removed him from any further work on our case. The VA appraiser would normally conduct a Reconsideration of Value process on an appraisal that he did, if such a Reconsideration was requested by the client.
As I have been pursuing a refund of the fee we paid for the appraisal, the VA informed me that the Reconsideration of Value process must be completed (even though the house deal is dead). They also informed me that Mr Berger will NOT be involved in the performance of the process.
If the VA was willing to remove him from reviewing/correcting his own appraisal, in the VA process, you ought to seriously consider not having ANY of your work done by Fred Berger, of Bakersfied, CA.
