We “inherited” a transaction from another lender today because their appraisal came in too low.
That lender tried to convince the Realtors, however, that the low appraisal was effectively “public record” and that it would do no good to go to a new lender (the current lender was hoping to force the buyers and sellers to renegotiate and make the deal work with the low appraisal).
Appraisals are not public record. Lenders do not share appraisals with other lenders. We can order our own appraisals at any time with our appraisers, no matter what appraisal problems may have surfaced with another lender.
FHA Appraisals Are Public Record Though (Sometimes)
The only exception is FHA. FHA appraisals become quasi-public record once they are uploaded to the FHA website (FHA Connections). Once uploaded, an FHA appraisal runs with the property for six months no matter what. Many lenders, however, avoid uploading problem appraisals.
