Dear Jan: I am selling my home. I have been told an appraiser is coming out to appraise my home this week. Am I paying the appraiser? And if so, how much?

SW

Dear SW: If you ordered an appraisal on your home, you would be the one paying for it. However, if a lender ordered an appraisal for a borrower, the borrower is paying for it.

With the mortgage crisis, there have been a few changes made, one of which is that third-party companies may now be part of the process, so they will get a part of the appraiser’s fee.

It is my opinion that the appraiser is already spending a vast amount of time on their work and sharing that fee will put a burden on our appraisers.

Some appraisers will now need to add fees for missed appointments, high end homes, etc., to keep them in the black.

Another change is that appraisers will not go out on a call until they are paid, therefore they are now calling the lender or borrower to get the credit/debit card number to pay for the fee in advance to insure that they get paid. Looks like some over-correcting of the system will actually be causing some higher fees which is too bad.