JAMES JUNEAU APPRAISAL SVC

This was an appraisal for a house that I was purchasing, so the lender ordered the appraisal and in accordance with new rules in housing transactions, an appraiser was blindly assigned to do the property appraisal. My luck of the draw brought me James Juneau Appraisal Service! But, trust me, that's where the luck ended. The first appraisal (yes they were made to go back and do over) was received and the house appraised for exactly $5k over the sale price - great!! Course then I reviewed the appraisal and found that the square footage of the house was 151 sq ft less than the Realtor had listed the house (doesn't sound like much but that's a 12x12 room or in this case almost $35k in value based on the price per square foot that the appraiser estimated). Furious, I went after the listing broker for "false" advertisement. This created a great deal of problems for this sale that later we found out were mostly to blame on the appraisal. I also reviewed the "comps" that were used and couldn't grasp why some of the properties were selected versus ones in the neighborhood which had recently sold. I complained to the lender because I couldn't speak to the appraiser directly (even though I wrote the check for $450). Got nowhere. A few weeks later I was still purplexed by the loss of square footage in the house and nobody could explain it to me nor did the appraiser respond to my questions through the lender. I revisited the diagram of the house that the appraiser had done showing the measurement used to derive at the square footage. Low and behold, I found the missing square footage on the second floor. The appraiser had obviously only measured one part of the upstairs and assumed that it was the same throughout. I made corrections on their drawing and sent it back to the lender demanding a new appraisal. Sure enough - 3 days later a new appraisal with a 2.6% increase in square footage, a 2.1% increase in value using the "cost approach method" or $15k but the "appraiser's opinion" of the value only increased by .8% or surprising a flat $5,000 ($70 per sq ft versus the $231 per sq ft the house was valued at in the previous appraisal so now with the extra square feet the value of the house dropped to $228 per sq ft - explain that one to me?!?!?!). At this point I wouldn't believe or trust anything that came from these guys. It appears based on my experience, they get the price that the house was listed for and sold for and then try to back into that number to get the loan approved. Given a choice - I would never chose James Juneau Appraisal Service.

First of all, the appraisal that was performed came in $30,000 lower than one completed only 2 years earlier (which was accomplished to set a price point for the sale of our house). To call what was performed an" Appraisal" would be an epic overstatement. The one thing that I will say is that they were very accurate in measuring. They were meticulous about getting the square footage correct so that they could set a reference for" Comparable" properties in the area. The properties that were used as were comparable ONLY in square footage and were ALL inferior in quality . There was no mention or consideration of the numerous upgrades, craftsmanship or top of the line fixtures or appliances.There was also no mention of the new roof which was replaced only three months prior (they didn?t even ask if there were any improvements). A true ?appraisal? should take everything into account when selecting other homes to compare or determining the true value of a property. It almost seemed that they were just going through the motions and had already made an assessment based purely on price per square foot and really had no interest in actually appraising the property. If you just want to pay for a low ball, price per square foot assessment based solely on the homes that were recently sold, than you found the right appraiser (although you can to the research yourself and keep your money). If you truly want an appraisal, steer clear of Juneau!