S J Clifford Appraisals

Steven Clifford contacted me within one week of the appraisal being ordered. We set a date for the appraisal and he showed up as scheduled. He calls from a blocked call. This was red flag number one. Obviously if you need to block your number your business does not want responsive contact with your customers. I met Mr. Clifford at my home and let him in and asked if he needed a tour, he said not necessarily. I also let him know that I had prints of the home and just had the home appraised by 3 professional appraisers at 452k and the home was recently tax assessed for 440k. He accepted the prints and information and asked me how much I had invested in the home since purchasing. I let him know approximately 100k, he also asked how what king of flooring I had. Seemed like odd questions but it was obvious to me this guy was not a professional. I crossed my fingers and that he can contact me with any questions. About three weeks went by and the bank still had not confirmed the appraisal amount. They had received but there were quality issues that had to be resolved. A week later the appraisal came in and it was 360k. I was a little shocked by the amount but it was enough to remove my PMI and qualify for the loan. I then looked into the details of the appraisal and found the comps were not similar. More importantly the square footage of the home was incorrect. He left the complete finished basement off 1514sf from the total square ft. Clifford appraisal left 1 bathroom off the appraisal, omitted the wet bar, 2nd fireplace, walk out basement and one bedroom and built in sauna, he noted roof looks ok (just replaced in 2012), noted kitchen replaced 6-10 years (Complete kitchen replaced in 2011). The banks was concerned with his appraisal and comps and asked for him to review and comfirm his appraisal amount. Clifford appraisal reappraised the home for 330k (THAT'S A 30K REDUCTION WITHOUT AN EXPLANATION) and resubmitted a new appraisal. He did not correct his square footage or any of the other items. Now with this amount I would need to bring $8000 to close and my interest rate would increase from 3.5% to 3.75% and I would need to pay 1.5% Point (or 1.5% of the final loan amount) All because of Clifford appraisal incompetence and misjudgement. The bank cannot contact directly, So I sent an email to SJ Clifford appraisals asking them for a call or explananation for comps, square footage, room count etc. No response. I then called, left message. no response. I then was able to get Steven Cliffords cell phone and called, received his voice mail and left a message. He actually called me back by accident and tried to act like it was a wrong number. While I finally got him on the phone I took advantage of the situation and asked him about he appraisal. He remembered the home immmedietly but could not answer any of the question because he stated he didn't have it in front of him. He said he would contact me back...NO CALL BACK. I then left additional voice mails and sent several emails. Still no call back. I had to bring 8k to close my refinance and it took an additional month because of Clifford appraisals incompetence. Chase was apologetic and was helpful as far as they could due to the circumstances. Clifford J. Appraisal IS NOT A QUALITY OR QUALIFIED APPRAISAL COMPANY. MY SUGGESTION IF YOUR BANK CONTRACTS THEM FOR YOUR APPRAISAL REJECT THEM THROUGH YOUR BANK ASAP AND HAVE ANOTHER APPRAISAL COMPANY ASSIGNED IMMEDIATELY. PLEASE LOOK AT OTHER REVIEWS ON ANGIE'S LIST,AS THEY ARE ALL THE SAME. SEND THIS REPORT TO YOUR BANK AS A REFERENCE TO YOUR REQUEST. MY SUGGESTION TO CLIFFORD APPRAISAL IS TO CONTACT YOUR CUSTOMERS BACK WITH EXPLANATIONS TO BACK YOUR APPRAISALS. BY NOT DOING SO YOU CONFIRM THE FACT YOU ARE A UNPROFESSIONAL BUSINESS WITH ZERO RIGHT TO PERFORM THE DUTIES YOU ARE HIRED FOR.

My lender selected this appraiser without input by me -- thinking he was close to the home in question. He accomplished the task within a reasonable time, but was totally in error. His measurements were not in any manner close to those of blue prints or of information on file at the auditor's office. And, he refused to respond to queries. He was happy to cash my check, however! I would never use this firm again.

Very bad. They put wrong information on the appraisal. Used comparables that were not even in the same part of town as subject property.