Mesa Mortgage Very misleading and deceptive Mesa Arizona

Rebuttal:

John H. Frieling from Peoria Arizona, is an angry man. In a lot of ways I can't blame him for his anger. Like many of us, Mr. Frieling has experienced first hand the result of a declining real estate market and has witnessed the value of his home drastically reduced seemingly over night.

Mr. John Frieling, however, has decided to shoot the messenger. He has filed multiple slanderous postings on Craig's List against me and my client Mesa Mortgage, as well as having spewed his poison on this website.

I suppose since Mr. Frieling has decided to name me in his “Ripoff Report” than he should not be adverse to me naming him in this rebuttal, as well as present my point of view. I find it cowardice that he refers to himself as “Raped” in Mesa, Arizona. Better he should refer to himself as “Oblivious” or “In Denial” in Peoria, Arizona.

My name is John Bellerose and yes, I am a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser in the State of Arizona. I have appraised some of the most beautiful as well as blighted neighborhoods in the Valley. I have appraised the homes of both local celebrities as well as homes of the humblest among us. After having appraised literally thousands of homes over a decade of experience, it's fairly safe to say I've seen them all.

Never have I run into the likes of Mr. Frieling, however. His rage is apparent and his ignorance to facts is almost comical.

Recently, I did appraise Mr. Frieling's home. As Mr. Frieling stated, I appraised it for considerably less than his “expectation” of value. In this market, however, that's not too surprising.

As an appraiser, I am bound by USPAP, (the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) and thus I must decline to share any information that may be contrary to upholding those standards and the code of ethics I am bound to uphold.

Since Mr. John H. Frieling has already spilled so much information freely on the web, I don't think I am sharing anything that he hasn't already decided to proliferate.

Anyway facts to consider:

1. THE FEE

Mr. Frieling met with Mesa Mortgage to discuss a possible refinance. The broker called me to ask me to accept the assignment. I agreed and quoted Mr. Frieling the fee for my services over the phone. Freiling verbally agreed to the $450.00 fee, sitting in the office of Mesa Mortgage. Upon arrival at the scheduled appointment time Frieling blurts out, “why are you charging $450.00 when I can get other appraisers to appraise my home for $350.”
I was taken aback by his brash, antagonistic behavior. I stated, “Well, sir, due to the complexity of the assignment; being that you live in a custom home in a somewhat rural location in Peoria, it will take much more additional time to appraise your property.” I further explained that typically for $350.00 I appraise “tract style” homes in the Valley where driving isn't such a factor and where comparable sales data, etc was much more prevalent.

Frieling would not let up. I thought it was a cheap shot on Frieling's part to raise such a fuss once I had just driven an hour through Phoenix traffic to get to his house. I was embarrassed with being put on the spot and having to defend my professional fee.

Finally, I said, “look Mr Frieling, it seems you need the extra hundred bucks more than I do, so I will be happy to do your appraisal for $350.” I figured something was better than nothing and I didn't want to completely waste my time.

Upon hearing me offer to work for less, Frieling softened, somewhat. He offered to split the $100. I accepted, relieved to be beyond that mess. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have walked then and there.

2. APPRAISAL PROCESS AND APPRAISED VALUE

In a ham-handed attempt to influence my opinion of value, Frieling did show me a previous appraisal he had for the property. I politely and briefly looked at the report. I recognized the name of the previous appraiser. It would not be professional for me to comment on the work of another appraiser, but it was performed by a person whom I respect very much.

Frieling falsely states about me in this report, “This clown comes in at $350k. He spent very little time noting all the custom work saying that appraisals are based on averages and not specifics.”

After having taken the time to physically inspect both the interior and exterior of the home, noting key features of the property, I advised Mr. Frieling that I had enough site data to begin to formulate my own opinion of value. When pressed, I explained that my opinion would be based on a “comparable market analysis,” not on any sort of “reproduction” valuation. I explained I would use “the most recent and relevant comparable properties available, in the present real estate market,” to determine his property's value.

I further explained that as an appraiser I don't have access to enter the private homes of the comparables to be considered and that I would use realtor data and an exterior inspection of the comps to determine their relevancy. I also gave Frieling a brief summary of the difference between the “Comparable Market Approach” and the “Cost Approach,” to determine value. I suppose the “averages” vs “specifics” that Frieling mentions is his own misunderstanding of the conversation we shared.

Mr. Frieling chooses in this report to call me a clown, but even my ten year gets the concept of a CMA, and why a “cost approach” to determine value is not relevant in the present real estate market. Simply put, most homes are actually worth far less than the actual cost is to build them when presented for sale on the market.

3.. PREDETERMINED VALUE

Mr. John H. Frieling states (regarding Mesa Mortgae and The Appraisal House, Inc.) “They are the experts and should have stated that they felt there was no way they could make it work and that my home would be $400k less.”

Well, thank you Mr. Frieling for admitting that I am (we are) the expert(s). And as an expert I can assure you that appropriate measures have been taken to render a professional opinion of value, an opinion based on fact and grounded in the principles of USPAP. Multiple sales as well as active listings fro your own immediate area substantiate my value conclusion. By the very nature of your comment, it's obvious to see that you felt I should have had some sort of “predetermined” value conclusion prior to appraising your home.

Appraisers cannot make a value judgment without going through the appraisal process.

USPAP prohibits the appraiser from making a value judgment before completing the appraisal process. Appraisers who tell you an estimated value will “work or not" are unethical and are at risk of losing their license.

Logic prohibits anyone from making an accurate value judgment before obtaining all the facts. I.E. market conditions, location, condition, size, detriments, and the list goes on and on. How would you feel about your doctor if he told you, you needed an operation based on a phone conversation? Or better yet, call your local jeweler and tell him you have a diamond in the palm of your hand and ask him what it's worth? You can even make it easy on him and tell him it's a carat and then ask him what's it worth? He can't say. He will need to inspect the diamond to determine its true value, based on the cut, color and clarity.

According to USPAP "The appraiser cannot take an assignment based on a predetermined value".

AO-19 from USPAP states "If an appraiser is asked whether a specific property has a value (a point, a range, or a relationship to some benchmark), that request is for an opinion of value (an appraisal). Appraisers, obligated to comply with USPAP, must develop a real property appraisal in accordance with STANDARD 1. Communicating that value opinion must be accomplished in accordance with STANDARD 2."

On occasion clients will call and ask me what a home is worth over the phone. As a courtesy on occasion I will verbally cite or email a list of recent sales from within the immediate area around the property in question. I am very clear to state that such sales are not considered to be “comps” but that they are merely sales that have transpired in the area. I say this because I cannot make value judgments without doing an appraisal. I generally recommend doing an appraisal if the client and borrower feel that there are sales that bracket their own estimated value. Often I suggest to the borrower to drive by their neighborhood sales and decide if an appraisal is warranted.

MR. FRIELING, FOR AN APPRAISER TO PERFORM AN APPRAISAL BASED ON A PREDETERMINED VALUE CONCLUSION IS CONSIDERED UNETHICAL. I INVITE YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S THAT SAME, SELF-SERVING LINE OF THINKING THAT HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE PRESENT STATE OF THE ECONOMY AS WELL AS THE GENERAL DISTRUST IN LENDING PRACTICES AS A WHOLE.

Mr Frieling, I get that you have heart burn over the value opinion rendered in my appraisal assignment. FYI: my job is not as you stated “to make it work” (your refinance). Nor is my job to pat you on the head and tell you lies because that's what yo want to hear. You discount my assessment as if value was not rendered for the work performed. At a minimum, for $400.00 you have an unbiased opinion by a Certified Residential Appraiser as to what the market value of your home truly is in this precarious market. It seems most people either think the appraiser came in “too high” (underwriter or buyer's opinion) or “too low” (homeowner/seller's opinion). Ask any appraiser and they will tell you, nine times out of ten, people generally think that their home is “by far the nicest in the neighborhood” and from that point want to influence the appraiser. When the truth comes that their homes are worth less than expected, many people act shocked, but deep down they generally know the truth. Then again, some people prefer to blame others or live in denial.

Mesa Mortgage is a highly reputable mortgage brokerage in the State of Arizona. The people you have slandered, in this posting as well as others, have contributed through their work and generosity to the community that they serve in ways that you would never know. Mr. Frieling, I get that you are troubled that the value has dropped on your home. Daily, I look into the faces of scared people just like you. For most people, their home is the biggest purchase they may ever make. It's frightening and discouraging to see our values disappear. I, too, have experienced over a 40% drop in the value of my own home. I would invite you to take the same zeal with which you have decided to slander me and my client and write your congressman and ask how you can make a positive change to our community.

Sincerely,

John Bellerose, CRREA
The Appraisal House, Inc.
P.O. Box 7510
Mesa, Az 85216

A couple days after recieving the appraisal from Mr. Bellerose I had a second appraisal done which came in close to his. Although I don't agree with all of his statements regarding myself, I must say that he did base his appraisl on the current values of homes in this depressed market. I originally posted my beef when I was in shock seeing my home value stated at 1/2 of what it was only a year or so ago and could not believe that the home dropped so much. After several communications with Mr. Bellerose following my second appraisal, I must say that he is a patient and knowledgeable professional and knows his business quite well although I did not care to hear the bad news. In hind sight I should have asked for their opinion of the value to see if it would even be close prior to ordering the full blown appraisal. At this point I have asked Ripoff Reports to remove the original post twice but have not heard back from them. Appraisal House llc. is a professional company and would not be a bad choice to use in the future.

I have done business with John on several occasions over the years and was shocked to find this posting. I can tell you that he is one of the most honest and fair minded persons I have ever known. I too have delt with appraisers and lenders and know what he must have gone through. Whoever this appraiser is, he certainly knows nothing of John's charector and probably only met him once. I would be willing to bet that John paid this guy in full and never asked him to do anything that other appraisers have not done. It is a shame that the market is what it is but if the appraiser was a true professional he would have never written such slander about John.