Consumer complaint received 2024-05-09
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLC. (GA)

I requested an appraisal on my home through mortgage company as part of the process to remove PMI. I contacted the lender ( PennyMac Mortgage ) on XX/XX/XXXX and they advised I must receive an appraisal from their approved appraisal company to remove company to remove PMI. The agent advised there was a fee for the appraisal of {$250.00} I believe. I called back on XX/XX/XXXX and completed the process to begin the appraisal, agreed to pay the appraisal fee answered the question from the lender and one of the questions was have I done in significant updates on the home, which I had. I had a completely unfinished XXXX sq. ft. basement that I turned in XXXX bedroom, XXXX bathroom, full kitchen, living room, dining room, and separate HVAC system. In addition, I added a tankless water heater, had a concrete path added to the backyard, added a steel fence, and screened-in XXXX outdoor areas. This all came to about XXXX worth of updates. The lender advised that I qualified for the appraisal and scheduled an appraiser ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) to come out XX/XX/XXXX. I received the completed appraisal from PennyMac in late XXXX. However, I had concerns. The appraisal which was completed on XX/XX/XXXX came in at {$610000.00} which I thought was odd because when I purchased the home XX/XX/XXXX and the appraisal price was {$610000.00}. Although, I had done around XXXX worth of work and added over XXXX sq ft of finished space to my home, the new appraisal I received was only {$2000.00} more than the appraisal when I purchased the home. I contacted PennyMac and advised them of concerns on XX/XX/XXXX. They advised me to submit a dispute by showing comparable homes in the area. I sent them the dispute via their " Messaging Center '', those messages have since been deleted from my view on the website. The agent that communicated with said they had received the documents and after much back and forth and escalation agreed to raise my appraisal value to around {$640000.00}. Which is still disputed and asked for an updated appraisal report with the changed value. I never received an updated appraisal report, nor did they follow up on my further dispute and told me that they could not send out another appraisal company and I couldnt use my own. The original message that I sent though the PennyMac Secure Messaging on XX/XX/XXXX is below and attached in the documents under Appraisal Comparison XXXX document. What prompted my complaint now after giving up due to the frustration of dealing with PennyMac is that I received my annual tax assessment for my home from the county for XXXX and the Fair Market Value of my home according to the tax assessors office as of XX/XX/XXXX is {$680000.00}. 

***Original Message to PennyMac via Message Center on XX/XX/XXXX : Hello, I requested PMI deletion on my loan. I paid the fee and the appraiser came out. I reviewed the appraisal report and I'm disputing the appraised value on the report. I spoke with a representative from PMI Deletion Dept. today who advised that I should send 3-5 comparable homes over to have them reviewed to dispute the appraisal. I have an attached an XXXX file which shows the 5 comparables and how they compare to the appraisal I received from your appraiser. 
As noted in the attached spreadsheet the subject home ( my home ) was not valued fairly compared to the comparable homes. Although the subject home is bigger and has more bedrooms and bathrooms than the comparables the price per sq. ft. and suggested sale price by your appraiser is significantly lower than the comparables. 
The subject home was originally XXXX with XXXX bedroom and XXXX bath. Summary of improvements done in home : Basement Finished in XXXX for additional XXXX of finished space for a total of XXXX sq. ft. The basement is a fully functional separate unit with private entrance, separate HVAC, XXXX beds, XXXX baths, full kitchen, living room and dining room. My home was originally valued at $ XXXX. XXXX when it sold but with the appraisal done by your appraiser it is now valued at $ XXXX. XXXX which a decrease of about $ XXXX. XXXX even though I completed major renovations and added over XXXX sq ft of living space to the home. In addition to the basement renovation, the water heater was switched to tankless water heater for the whole. A concrete path was built to go from the front of the home to the back, the patio and deck were screened in, and the backyard was fenced in. 
On your appraisers ' appraisal report it is noted that XXXX of work was completed on the home but none of that is factored into the value. The appraiser gave no credit for the extensive renovations completed and valued my house nearly the same as the XXXX appraisal when it was purchased in XX/XX/XXXX. 

Please review my dispute request and provide an update. I appreciate your time. *** ***Description of Documents Attached Below 1. PennyMac Appraisal XXXX Is the original appraisal I received from PennyMac which was done by XXXX XXXX XXXX 2. XXXX XXXX XXXX Is the appraisal I received when I originally purchased my home on XX/XX/XXXX. 
3. XXXX XXXX XXXX Tax Assessment Is the tax assessment from XXXX XXXX, GA showing a fair market value for my home of {$680000.00}. 
4. Appraisal Comparison XXXX Is the comparison I completed and sent to PennyMac at their request to show that my original appraisal from them and the comps used did reflect an accurate value of my home. 

1. PennyMac Appraisal XXXX Is the original appraisal I received from PennyMac which was done by XXXX XXXX XXXX 2. XXXX Appraisal XXXX Is the appraisal I received when I originally purchased my home on XX/XX/XXXX. 
3. XXXX XXXX XXXX Tax Assessment Is the tax assessment from XXXX XXXX, GA showing a fair market value for my home of {$680000.00}. 
4. Appraisal Comparison XXXX Is the comparison I completed and sent to PennyMac at their request to show that my original appraisal from them and the comps used did reflect an accurate value of my home. ***