"I paid for an appraisal for my home loan.
Now the appraiser states they are not able to provide a copy of the report because I am not the client. "

Who is the Client?

When an appraisal is ordered for a property the appraiser and the client form a confidential relationship. The client is the person or entity who engages the Appraiser. In most instances, in the banking industry, this client is a Bank, Mortgage Company, or other Lender.

Many people who may have had several appraisals for mortgages in their lifetime have no idea that a client relationship does not exist between the appraiser and the borrower in these transactions.

Federal Banking requirements prohibit the borrower from engaging an appraiser directly. It is a common misunderstanding in consumer lending that payment creates an appraiser-client relationship. The client is the party which engages the appraiser. Again, this engagement comes at the time of the order or contracting for services.

In the residential lending industry, the main federal law regarding this is known as FIRREA.

Similar situations:

Many people find it helpful to compare this arrangement to paying a relative’s attorney fees for a legal matter. The attorney would have the relationship with their client, your relative, and ultimately be responsible to that person, regardless of who paid the bill.

The situation can also be compared to a tax preparer, where someone may pay another party’s bill for tax preparation; the payment of the fees does not constitute a client relationship or a right to their tax filing.

When a Homeowner can engage an appraiser:

There are times when a homeowner can engage an appraiser directly. These include tax appraisal, domestic legal situations, sales negotiations or pre-listing appraisals, and sometimes just to know what a certain property’s market or other value is. There are many instances where an appraiser can have multiple clients. Most of these include when an attorney is involved representing the client in a legal matter. In these instances, the appraiser may engage with the attorney and the attorney’s client, who would likely be the property owner.

How to receive copies of the appraisal report:

The same laws and regulations governing residential lending provide for the borrowers to receive a copy of the appraisal report from the Appraiser’s Client or Lender in instances where the transaction is federally related, or sometimes under other matters of law or regulation. Sometimes the institution is permitted to charge a fee for the duplication of the documents. The borrower should contact the institution directly to assess their individual situation and if determine if they are entitled to receive a copy of the report.

Confidentiality:

Due to the confidential nature of this engagement appraisers are not permitted to discuss specific items concerning the client’s business processes or requirements with borrower(s), homeowner(s), or their representative(s) without permission from the client.

Transparency and Frankness makes the difference at Pointer Appraisal Services:

The Appraiser-Client Relationship has been a question over decades. Due to a lack of industry transparency, many appraisers may not have forms and risk management procedures in place to advise borrowers and others of these items in advance. Pointer Appraisal takes a proactive approach and seeks to have transparency in these areas of our business relationships. We provide this information online in our website, and summarized in a handout at the time of interior viewing of a borrower’s property.

Selected References:

FDIC Statements of Policy under "Selection of Individuals Who May Perform Appraisals and Evaluations" just after the bullets. The appraiser's client is the institution, not the borrower