I got a text from a loan officer yesterday asking, "Are Buyers allowed to be at the Appraisal inspection?"

"Are Buyers allowed to be at the Appraisal inspection?" No problem. Yes, a Buyer can attend an appraisal inspection. As a Realtor or a Loan Officer, you really should check the motives of the Buyer. Is it just curiosity? Nothing better to do that day? Or something more?

1. It's uncommon for a Buyer to be at an appraisal inspection. Having a Buyer attend may get the Appraiser's Spidey-sense tingling. Some Appraisers can be cautious and having something unusual at the appraisal inspection may get them out of their routine or it can be a distraction. We Appraisers are very process driven and when that process is changed, I know for me, I have a greater possibility of forgetting something in my process.

2. It's important to know that the Appraiser is NOT doing the appraisal on behalf of the buyer. If the Buyer wants to be able to ask the Appraiser questions about the property, transaction or potential value, there is very little that the Appraiser will be able to tell them. The Appraiser's client is the Lender and the Lender only.  We have confidentiality agreements and rules through USPAP that we must follow. This will prevent the Appraiser from doing anything but speak in generalities. The buyer may end up frustrated and feeling like the Appraiser is not doing their job by answering all their questions.

3. The Appraiser is not a Home Inspector. It's not unusual for an Appraiser and a Home Inspector to be at a property at the same time. The Home Inspector IS hired by the buyer and the Home Inspector will show the Buyer their findings. I have even seen Home Inspectors encourage Buyers to tag along and ask questions. The Appraiser is required by USPAP not disclose any findings to the Buyer about the house or the value.

5. "I paid for the darned appraisal! You have to give me the info I want!"  Yes, I have heard those words, or similar, over my career, from Buyers. The Appraiser's Client is the Lender, and no one else, because the Lender is the one who engaged the Appraiser and who the Appraiser has an agreement to perform and appraisal with. Regardless of who pays for the appraisal, the Appraiser will always be required to adhere to confidentiality requirements.

6. If the Buyer wants to attend, that's fine, but as the Realtor, stay with them and act as a moderator and source of info for the Buyer. As an Appraiser, I really don't mind who attends the inspection. If the Buyer asks about the value, value range, whether or not the Appraised value will hit the contract price or anything else related to the transaction at hand, I'll politely explain that I am unable to answer their questions. I will even go further and explain to them why I am unable to answer their questions, and based on the few times this has happened in the past, that is usually the end of it.

I do always encourage Realtors to attend the appraisal inspection. For me, Realtors are the best source of info there is. Not only about the transaction at hand, but more general market info as well. 

Lastly, not every Appraiser has the same way of doing things, the same interpretation of rules and regs. or the same opinions as me. The combination of an excited Buyer that wants to ask a lot of questions, and an Appraiser might feel a bit overwhelmed, might just lead to unintended consequences, like the Appraiser feeling they are being unduly influenced. That wont happen with every Appraiser and certainly not with me, but it could be a risk not worth taking.