Well known firm investigating Wells Fargo appraisal practices
Have you used Wells Fargo and Rels Valuations?
The law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro is investigating Wells Fargo and its appraisal subsidiary Rels Valuation based on reports the companies engaged in a rigged appraisal process.
The firm is looking into claims that Wells Fargo forces homeowners to use its appraisal firm, Rels Valuation, which then turns around and subcontracts the work to independent appraisers while charging homeowners an inflated fee for the work.
Reports say independent appraisers are forced to work for below market value while Rels Valuation significantly inflates the cost of the work for homeowners, generating profits for itself and its parent, Wells Fargo.
HBSS believes the practice may affect homeowners throughout the country.
HBSS is looking for homeowners who purchased or refinanced their home through Wells Fargo and Rels Valuation.
You can learn more about this investigation at www.hbsslaw.com/WFCappraisals
To contact attorneys you can join this investigation, e-mail wfc@hbsslaw.com or call (206) 623-7292.
This is very interesting...I will contact some of our clients that used them and see if they would like to look into this further.
I think everything about Wells Fargo should be investigated.
Wells Fargo Home Equity doesn't charge the customer appraisal fees, the bank eats it and the price of their valuations/appraisal is the same as Mortgage Fulfillment, so I don't see any truth to this.
The article was not about Wells Fargo Home Equity Loans, it is about first lien loans.
Furthermore, it is because of bad appraisal practices from some of the largest lenders in the nation (like Wells Fargo and Washinton Mutual) that we now have HVCC.
Joseph, I don't agree. I think we have HVCC because some of the largest Lenders like the ones you mentioned made very bad loans and would rather blame others than shoulder the blame.
How stupid can you be to loan more than 80%? That would have been the prudent thing to adhere to which would insulate the lender IF the appraisal was off by a couple of points. In hindsight, even 80% of boom prices was a dummy loan. My opinion, if lenders had capped at 80% then the foreclosure boom would be more of a firecracker than an Atomic blast such as it is.
They did it for the money, not because of appraisers. You can't really believe that lending 100% whether it's a 1st or an 80/20-90/10 was a good idea and a decision based soley on appraisals. It wasn't, it was based on greed. It was also a decision that no one the lenders had any say in.
Now you and I and everyone else gets to pay for it, deal with HVCC, the new GFE's, and deals crashing at a rate we've not seen before. The result of Lenders shooting their own foot a while back is Lenders shooting their other foot today!
That's just how it is...