MetroWest Appraisal Co., LLC should not be allowed to do business in the US. A simple google search…read moreexposes the universally terrible customer reviews (i.e., victims of this appraisal company).
Sadly, we are yet another victim...... without a choice. Mortgage lenders, please do yourself a favor and support companies that are not: immoral, unethical, dishonest, crooked, and shady.
While we were explicitly told by the mortgage lender, only a "drive by" appraisal would be required, Mark Lee Hudson from this organization called the week of New Years and told us he was going to come into the home during a pandemic for an appraisal for a refinance. Mark showed up, requested to view our home without being accompanied and attempted to walk on my white carpet with wet and muddy cowboy boots. I asked him to remove them. Against Mark's wishes, my husband accompanied him throughout the home.
We converted the dining room into a bedroom because of the view, Mark was confused if it was a "bedroom" or "dining room"...... according to real estate guidelines, no closet means it is not a bedroom. Not sure how a licensed "professional" did not know that. My husband offered him the original blueprints from the build for his notes, he refused.
We received the appraisal and were completely confused..... wow, where to begin?!?! The square footage was off. How could that be? I can understand a foot or two... but sadly, Mark understated the square footage of the home by 300 FEET!!!!!! (sadly, that is a common theme, based on other reviews) Additionally, he overstated the size of the basement. Although the home went through a major remodel less than 15 years ago, and a small remodel when we purchased 6 years ago- Mark indicated the home has not been updated within the last 15 years. Mark pulled comps from the area demonstrating home values consistently between $147-$175sf, each home with a significantly smaller lot. There was one outlier home sold at $103sf, that we actually looked at 6+ years ago when it was originally listed (it has been on and off the market since then).. the roof was not maintained and the ceiling caved in. Interestingly, Mark did not take a house 3 north of us that sold very quickly at $200sf. Nor did he use the house kitty corner from ours that just list for over $200sf. When we flipped the page and saw he valued the home at $75sf?! Shoot, if all these houses were going for $75sf, I might have a few more! By Mark's own admission, with the comps he pulled, the home should be valued at a MINIMUM of $103sf (although we have all of our ceilings... and they didn't cave in)... but most likely closer to the $140-$150 range. In 2019, we had a realtor that only does homes in the area, and has been featured on House Envy multiple times stated she was confident the home would sell quickly at $154sf but would originally list it at $173sf.
This blatant disregard for providing factual, evidence based appraisal goes to show that this "check the box" activity is immaterial, corrupt and a complete waste of money. This company needs to have checks and balance so this unethical behavior stops.
I appreciated part of a review someone shared regarding this company, I would like to add this to my review as a reminder of what damage this immoral behavior does:
"A faulty appraisal can ruin someone's dreams and life. In my case the interest rate increased and the amount of the loan decreased. I was able to fix the problem, but first time buyers and people who don't understand the system are simply victims, and are unable to purchase the house they wanted, or can only sell their house at a deflated price. Similar stories abound throughout the Internet. For your own well-being, avoid doing business with MetroWest Appraisals, LLC."