CENTRAL NM APPRAISAL ASSOC

Let me preface this review by saying that I originally purchased my home in 2009, after the housing bubble had burst, so I got a reasonable deal on this property. This is an important preface because I don't want readers of the review to think that this is just another disgruntled homeowner taken by surprise by the market downturn. I recently applied for a home refinance (just because the rates are so low) and, as part of that process, Central New Mexico Appraisal Associates was selected as the appraiser (not by my choice). After the appraiser had put together his report, I got back the results which showed a valuation of ~$77 per square foot. When I saw this, I thought it was a mistake. As I read through the evaluation, the appraiser noted that he used short sales from 4 months ago and older because no other homes had sold since then. I live in an area of Albuquerque that is surrounded by multiple similar subdivisions of similar age and quality. What I found odd was that the appraiser refused to research 'comps' from anywhere but the subdivision in which I live. I contacted a Realtor for advice who did a comp analysis of similar quality homes within a 1 mile radius, which included several other adjacent or nearby subdivisions. In that analysis, the Realtor found 13 homes that had closed within the past two months. On average, those homes sold (not listed) for ~$100 per square foot. Armed with this information, I formally protested the valuation to which I received a prompt response that because none of these homes were in my subdivision, the appraiser would not consider them comparable. This doesn't make any sense and my Realtor didn't think so either. If there were only 5 homes in my subdivision, would the appraiser do the same thing? That would be ridiculous. If other homes in my neighborhood outside my subdivision were substantially different in quality from my own, then I might understand, but that is simply not the case. In this particular case, I honestly believe that the actions of Central New Mexico Appraisal Associates were unethical and borderline illegal. I have written a formal letter of complaint regarding this company to the New Mexico Real Estate Appraiser Board and I am also seeking legal counsel on this matter. Unfortunately, the appraiser already has my money and now has no motivation for reviewing my case. I believe that the services rendered by this appraiser were substandard and I will be seeking a refund. I will also be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and have recommended to the Appraisal Management Company that they no longer use this company as a service provider. I wrote such a long review because I feel so strongly about this. With appraisers like this, using incestuous data, he is allowed to artificially deflate housing prices. It is simply unacceptable to me that the appraiser did not perform due diligence in this case by failing to utilize more recent comps in my overall neighborhood. If you have a choice of appraisers, I would urge you not to use this company.