Forensic Appraisal Review


Any certified appraiser can conduct an appraisal. However, a forensic appraisal review requires a superior level of competency, that only comes with years of experience.

A Forensic Appraisal Review, or Appraisal Audit, is a process for reexamining a real estate appraisal created by another appraiser. Requests for Forensic Appraisal Reviews often occur when a client has serious questions about another appraisers work product. The most common use of a forensic appraisal reviews happen under the following circumstances:

A bank loan has gone bad and the property no longer appears to be worth the loan amount. The lender would like to know if the prior appraisal on the property was defective, or has the market value declined substantially since the origination of the mortgage.

A borrower believes that a lender has provided a “predatory loan,” and the loan is based on a value that was for more than the property was worth back when the loan was granted.

Our Forensic Appraisal Reviews are also used during legal actions. Often a law firm or criminal prosecutor asks us to critique the work of others. In these instances they believe that the opposing side has provided an inaccurate appraisal and they would like us to determine the adequacy of the opposing appraisal.


For further information on Forensic Review Appraisals, or to request an Appraisal, please contact us!




While any experienced firm may offer Forensic Appraisal Reviews, Benchmark Real Estate Appraisals should be your only consideration and heres why: Randy Stegemann, of Benchmark Real Estate Appraisals, sits on the CNAREA Ethics Committee, and any appraiser that comes under fire will ultimately land on the desk of this committee. Skip the time and cost of the middle work and go directly to the end by having your Forensic Review Appraisal completed by Benchmark Real Estate Appraisals.