Consumer complaint received 2019-05-30
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: NV
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
DATE : XXXX Cost {$510.00} Person in question is : XXXX XXXX XXXX & US Bank home mortgage After noticing many neighbors who have either refinanced or sold their home in our community, we saw that there was a chance that my family would be able to eliminate the mortgage Ins ( MI ) that we continue to pay on a monthly basis on our mortgage. So, we decided to contact US Bank directly to see what we needed to do to get the MI taken off of our monthly mortgage payment. After speaking to a US Bank rep, we were instructed to pay {$510.00} for an appraisal to see if the value was there. My husband being a dully licensed XXXX XXXX XXXX and a XXXX  XXXX XXXX for over 20 years in over 35  states. He knew what to look for well before contacting US Bank regarding the MI to be eliminated. This is why we felt confident moving forward. 

Once the appraiser came to our home, he seemed to be doing his job as a normal appraiser would. Once it was time for him to leave, He asked me multiple times " what value are we needing ''? My husband answered him saying he is not to ask this question. Just focus on the appraisal as he would in any other home. The gentleman proceeded to state " you know if you're needing a certain value, we may be able to work something out ''. My husband knew right then and there that we were not going to be treated fairly. My husband answered the appraisers questions until it became clear the appraiser was looking for more than information, he was looking for a quid-pro-quo. He probed my husband about the major upgrades we did on the house and once we told him we are not looking to pay any additional money to the appraiser for work that must be without bias, The demeanor of the appraiser was less than professional from that point on. 

The appraiser from that moment on began to talk down our 2 year old home as if we had issues with it. Then he proceeded to point out that our garage was attached to our neighbors home which will bring our value down. My husband made it clear to the appraiser to do his job and to refrain from talking any more about our home and the value. We just had a bad feeling inside since this appraiser made it clear, that if we did not pay to play, we wont see the value we are looking for. Even though the appraiser had zero clue as to what value we were sure we would get our home appraised for. 

We are simply notifying you of a rogue appraiser who can hurt the housing market with his illegal practices. It is imperative to remove this man from his license asap. He is a bad apple with good ones who do their job well. US Bank finally sent us the report and the comps that were used were homes from XX/XX/XXXX while their were homes to use as comps within the last 3 months. The appraiser went out of his way to NOT use comps that were within the last 3 to 4 months. Instead, He used low comps from XX/XX/XXXX and various other homes to make it seem as if my home was not gaining any value in the past 2 years while everyone else was showing some form of value increase. 

We have not consulted an attorney against US Bank and the appraiser they used for this transaction. However, we are open to such litigation for damages.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation