Leave appraisers alone

Having been in the appraisal field for over 30 years with stints in county government, and most recently, review appraiser with two of the now-defunct sub-prime lenders in Orange County, “Appraisals May Change Radically” [March 16] by Kenneth R. Harney was a most welcome sight.

Without reciting the entire article, the bottom line reads along the lines of, “Let my people go.” Brought up to date in the present context it would read, “Let my appraisers appraise.”

Appraisers do not need any extraneous pressure from loan reps, brokers or real estate agents. They have enough of a problem in determining an accurate and fair value in this declining market. The new guidelines and laws simply state that mortgage brokers and lenders will not have a say in what appraiser does the appraisal on the property as all future appraisal assignments will be done by independent appraisal companies not under the influence of any lenders. If these new guidelines function as planned, we will see a new generation of honest appraisals which hopefully will help end the current mortgage nightmare now gripping our nation.

Bill Spitalnick

Newport Beach