Suzanne G. Marino Market Value Appraisal Company

The appraiser Ms. Suzanne Marino arrived late, after rescheduling the appointment. She did not pull a tape measurer to assure square footage, but instead made small talk for much of the session. She took pictures, seemed very friendly, and assured me that if there were any issues where she could not find value, she would let me know. I told her I was worried, because this area doesn't have many sales in my range and lakefront homes are difficult to appraise due to location adjustments. Being that I have been a real estate agent in another state, I am very familiar with the technical side of the appraisal industry. Ms. Marino finally completed her work and submitted it to the VA (uploaded) on Friday of the MLK weekend. Disregarding the rule that states if an appraisal is short, the appraiser should notify the lender client to see if there are any other comps that could be used. Once I had a chance to review the appraisal, I could see that her reason for insufficient value was purely due to using inferior comps from locations on ponds, or small lakes. For example my lake location is a 532 acre lake, whereas the lakes and areas she was using were 30-50 acre lakes. She came in $40,000 short, and would not adjust, and became belligerent towards myself and the lender. VA finally reviewed her work and found that she was incorrect, and the appraisal was corrected. We were under contract for the property to close by 31 January. If it closed on or before 31 January, the seller was to provide a $5000 closing concession to our family. It was going to be used to pay some of our closing expenses. Since we were fighting for the appraisal to be corrected it took too long. We were unable to close on the loan until Jan. 10, 2012. The stress MS. Marino's incompetence caused was great. I hope she gets the Karma she deserves one day! Should you discover that your lender has selected her, encourage them to find ANY OTHER APPRAISER!