FIRST LOOK APPRAISALS hires appraisers all over the country. They are located in MI, I reside in CA. I was attempting to do a refi on my home. First Look hired Maged Aziz, from ABSOLUTE VALUE LINK. Making the appointment alone, was ridiculous. As another customer reviewd here, it was like trying to stab jello to a wall. They would not let me talk to the appraiser to schedule, so when they offered me a time, and I couldn't they had to call him, find a new time and call back. That time didn't work, so they said they would ask what else he has open, and I suggested that he just reach out to me and we'd be able to schedule something more easily--seeing that a week had already gone by playing this tag game. They told me NO! that is not the way he works. It only got worse after that. We set an appointment, but mine was the last of the day for him, and he had a gap between appointments and he was sure to let me know, as he isn't from the area, so he had to wait, and since it was the last of the day, he was facing rush hour traffic to boot.
This appraiser unfortunately, does not know the business, even after 5 years. He appraised my home, but was not from this area #1--lives over an hour away from my neighborhood, so he knows little about the area/initiatives/nightlife/et al, #2 missed several amenities on the appraisal (such as a pool???!!! WTF?), put incorrect information ( from simple things like wrong flooring, to whether I had a fireplace), entered incorrect data about the structure; said there were no updates and in average condition (I remodeled), and used old comps to calculate it. At first I thought I was just not understanding the paperwork, til I compared it to an appraisal I had 5 years ago (not for the value, but for the content written re: my home)--and they were WAY off. So, to confirm, I hired a different appraiser, and not only did this new appraiser's information match the information on my previous appraisal (the things that should be constant, including square footage), the appraisal came in SIGNIFICANTLY higher--8-10k! So, not just a little over or under--near what Aziz had provided--way over it--BUT--AT THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE OF OTHER SALES AND REFI'S in the neighborhood. So this new appraiser wasn't just arbitrarily throwing out numbers--he was experienced, knowledgeable and competent.
********Because of Maged and his appraisal, which I had to pay for also (my broker I was working with, lost out). I went with another company. **************
If he would have appraised it accurately and somewhere near current market value--I would have closed the deal with my broker. I felt horrible for my broker, because he was doing a lot of work,, but it was a big difference in money, and we needed all the value in the home we could get.
Thus--If you want an accurate appraisal, one that is worth your time and money (was $500 for that appraisal)--DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY OR MAGED AZIZ @ ABSOLUTE VALUE LINK. [Sorry Maged if you are reading this, but it is the truth. And you should know.]
First Look Appraisals Reviews
FIRST LOOK APPRAISALS hires appraisers all over the country. They are located in MI, I reside in CA. I was attempting to do a refi on my home. First Look hired Maged Aziz, from ABSOLUTE VALUE LINK. Making the appointment alone, was ridiculous. As another customer reviewd here, it was like trying to stab jello to a wall. They would not let me talk to the appraiser to schedule, so when they offered me a time, and I couldn't they had to call him, find a new time and call back. That time didn't work, so they said they would ask what else he has open, and I suggested that he just reach out to me and we'd be able to schedule something more easily--seeing that a week had already gone by playing this tag game. They told me NO! that is not the way he works. It only got worse after that. We set an appointment, but mine was the last of the day for him, and he had a gap between appointments and he was sure to let me know, as he isn't from the area, so he had to wait, and since it was the last of the day, he was facing rush hour traffic to boot.
This appraiser unfortunately, does not know the business, even after 5 years. He appraised my home, but was not from this area #1--lives over an hour away from my neighborhood, so he knows little about the area/initiatives/nightlife/et al, #2 missed several amenities on the appraisal (such as a pool???!!! WTF?), put incorrect information ( from simple things like wrong flooring, to whether I had a fireplace), entered incorrect data about the structure; said there were no updates and in average condition (I remodeled), and used old comps to calculate it. At first I thought I was just not understanding the paperwork, til I compared it to an appraisal I had 5 years ago (not for the value, but for the content written re: my home)--and they were WAY off. So, to confirm, I hired a different appraiser, and not only did this new appraiser's information match the information on my previous appraisal (the things that should be constant, including square footage), the appraisal came in SIGNIFICANTLY higher--8-10k! So, not just a little over or under--near what Aziz had provided--way over it--BUT--AT THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE OF OTHER SALES AND REFI'S in the neighborhood. So this new appraiser wasn't just arbitrarily throwing out numbers--he was experienced, knowledgeable and competent.
********Because of Maged and his appraisal, which I had to pay for also (my broker I was working with, lost out). I went with another company. **************
If he would have appraised it accurately and somewhere near current market value--I would have closed the deal with my broker. I felt horrible for my broker, because he was doing a lot of work,, but it was a big difference in money, and we needed all the value in the home we could get.
Thus--If you want an accurate appraisal, one that is worth your time and money (was $500 for that appraisal)--DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY OR MAGED AZIZ @ ABSOLUTE VALUE LINK. [Sorry Maged if you are reading this, but it is the truth. And you should know.]