I wouldn't want to live in the same house and would sell the house and start a new life some place else.

To back to being there when the appraiser is:

The real work of the appraisal doesn't happen at your house. That happens later in the appraiser's office. The appraiser is at the house to make sure the house is as described - size, configuration, etc. He'll also look at condition and for other less tangible factors. Being there won't make him any more or less likely to notice those things, unless he doesn't know to move the bookcase to descend into your secret lair via the Bat-pole.

If he gets the appraisal wrong, then you can attack it later. He got the size wrong, he used comps that are 10 years old, or comps that aren't really comparable - whatever. Being there during the inspection will have little to no effect on the value he comes up with.

There is a LOT of room for variation in appraisals. The more valuable the property, or the more unusual, the wider the range can be. That is why you get your own appraisal and engage in a battle of the experts.

The appraiser is not going to bug your house, or steal your shit. He won't risk his license or certification for that. He is an appraiser not a PI or thief.

You may not want your wife there without your presence, if you have been given the use of the house for now. If she can insist on being there, then you might be justified in going. If not, there is little reason to be there yourself. Hell, you may prefer the appraiser to make an obvious mistake, as that would give you a basis on which to attack his appraisal as completely unreliable. You aren't going to be able to talk her appraiser into adjusting the value in whatever way you think it should go.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I would supervise the appraiser the entire time. He might not be an appraisal at all and might be planting listening devices or camera's or who knows that.....or retrieving valuables the wife hid a while ago and forgot.......

Probably a Russian agent trying to gather information to help Trump get elected.

Someone I know is currently getting a divorce because his wife is cheating, he couldn't put the GPS tracking unit on or in his wife's car because it's owned by the corporation she works for. He could and did put it inside the "new" child's car seat that he put in her car as it doesn't belong to the corporation she works for! The PI then uses the tracking device to locate her to get evidence on her (take pictures going in/out hotel, restaurants, etc.), You'd be surprised what people do in divorces as well as the technology you can buy over the counter these days. The GPS tracking unit costs $400 and the monitoring fee is less than $80 a month and shows up on your phone in an app real time.

Well, I'm a licensed PI in Pennsylvania, and I can pretty much tell you that though it sounds really clever by the letter of the law, actually using a GPS in this way will probably get the info thrown out and piss off the arbitrator or judge. It is pretty clear that no one tracks a car seat, thus thinly disguising what the actual purpose of placing it there was for, tracking the car. At least, that's my experience.
As for placing devices within the residence, if she is residing there until the legal separation or the divorce is final, then she probably has the legal right to put devices anywhere in the house she wants. Once she moves out, then that changes. Even if the marriage is not yet dissolved and her name is still on the deed/mortgage, once she is legally not residing at the property she would forfeit any right to place or access any such devices. Once it is not her domicile, he has an expectation of privacy in his own home, that she would have abdicated once she moved out.

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I don't want to call anyone out in particular, but about half the things people have said in this thread are either flat wrong, half wrong, or meaningless without context. Any divorce lawsuit is a complicated event, and most people, even lawyers who don't handle divorce, know almost nothing about it.

Go by what has been said here at your peril.

When involved in a divorce, use the lawyer (she is the one with the law license and years of experience), not what your friends and the internet tell you.

Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

I don't want to call anyone out in particular, but about half the things people have said in this thread are either flat wrong, half wrong, or meaningless without context. Any divorce lawsuit is a complicated event, and most people, even lawyers who don't handle divorce, know almost nothing about it.

Go by what has been said here at your peril.

When involved in a divorce, use the lawyer (she is the one with the law license and years of experience), not what your friends and the internet tell you.

Thank you.

I have to agree.

My head is spinning with all the incorrect information in this thread.

One of the very few residential appraisal assignments I allow my firm to accept is litigation appraising, for purposes like this.

Here's what I'll add:

Every state requires professional licensing of real estate appraisers. Their name is on a list, with your state. In addition, every licensed appraiser is listed with the Appraisal Subcommittee, Federally. Most states list appraisers who have had actions taken against them for bad/unethical appraising. It is extremely easy to verify if an appraiser is who he/she says he/she is.

Here's a link: https://www.asc.gov/National-R...FindAnAppraiser.aspx

It seems to me that if there are doubts, or reasons to doubt the validity of the appraiser's true intentions or licensing...you could request for the appraiser to be named, verify licensing online....and then check an ID when you meet them at the door. Then leave. We never ask clients/owners to leave, I'd prefer that they be available to answer any questions I might have.

If you want to combat your ex's appraisal results, hire your own appraiser. Hire one with a higher level of certification and experience. It'll make it easy to refute her appraisal if needed. We also do that service for people. Often because an overzealous real estate agent was involved in the first one. Even better, recently we were asked by a bank to provide a completion inspection and certification of value for an original value given by a construction contractor. The level of unethical idiocy in the residential markets never ceases to amaze me.

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Finally, make sure the appraiser you hire, and your lawyer, both understand the difference between appraised value and an actual selling price. In my limited Real Estate experience several years ago, appraised value, selling price, and a bank's valuation for a mortgage, are entirely unrelated.

I'd love to hear this one explained....

Be careful about who you choose to marry, and you will not have these problems. Spend time on the front end evaluating the potential for problems down the road.

General Mattis does a lot of analysis of situations, perhaps that is why he is still single.

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:

quote:

Finally, make sure the appraiser you hire, and your lawyer, both understand the difference between appraised value and an actual selling price. In my limited Real Estate experience several years ago, appraised value, selling price, and a bank's valuation for a mortgage, are entirely unrelated.

I'd love to hear this one explained....

It's not complicated.

"Appraised value" is the value, usually expressed as "market value" a property would sell for adequately exposed to the market of ready, willing and able buyers and sellers, etc. It is an opinion, hopefully based on analysis of pertinent data.

"Selling price" is the price actually agreed to between a ready, willing and able buyer and seller with respect to a given property. It is not necessarily the same as the appraised value, for a variety of circumstances.

A "bank's valuation for a mortgage" refers to the bank's determination of value for a mortgage on a given property. Although usually based on a percentage of "selling price," it need not be defined that way, nor equivalent to appraised value.

These different concepts are somewhat related, although they may not be the same number in every case.

Thanks, JALLEN, your explanation was better than the one I was writing in my head!

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Be careful about who you choose to marry, and you will not have these problems.

Yes, Capt Obvious, we will all be more careful.

It sounds like the 'assumption' is that the appraisal will be on the high side to get a larger 'payout'? Yes, stand by for your own appraisal to counter, as needed.

Just more examples of how 'equity' during divorce gets eroded during the 'process'.

One thing I would do is cut back to zero any cleaning, maintenance or upkeep until this all runs it's course.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Be careful about who you choose to marry, and you will not have these problems. Spend time on the front end evaluating the potential for problems down the road.

General Mattis does a lot of analysis of situations, perhaps that is why he is still single.

I've followed this, and yes I'm single. I've determined at my age, I just don't have time or money to recuperate from divorce. For many years now, any relationship I'm in, if and when the discussion comes up I'm pretty clear about prenuptial, and what is mine before will be mine after, and no compensation of any kind will be paid in the event of failure. If a woman is grown up she has the same opportunities I do, of working hard, obtaining degrees, certifications, and advancing her career and income. I am not your golden ticket. That runs them all off so it's a clear path to chasing off gold diggers. On several occasions the woman has gotten angry and said "What if I made twice what you do" etc, to which I responded that I wouldn't want a single penny, only my property, and an amicable split. Each time they've gotten pissed at that response. No I don't want you have, only interested in what I make for myself. Double standards everywhere like a mine field.

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Yes, Capt Obvious, we will all be more careful.

Glad to hear that you made a wise choice, did your due diligence and are happily married.

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Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

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Yes, Capt Obvious, we will all be more careful.

Glad to hear that you made a wise choice, did your due diligence and are happily married.

Very happy and very single.

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Very happy and very single.

OK

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Be careful about who you choose to marry, and you will not have these problems. Spend time on the front end evaluating the potential for problems down the road.

General Mattis does a lot of analysis of situations, perhaps that is why he is still single.

I respect General Mattis, but his not being married proves nothing. Someone who's never purchased a car is not a proof for whether failing to do proper research on a car will net you a lemon.

As with many things in life, marriage and divorce are complex, with multiple variables and cannot be reduced to a simple equation dependent only on the presence or absence of a single factor.

It's a tricky business.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
It's a tricky business.

There's the problem, right there.

At some level, it is a business. If I had followed my heart and head, I wouldn't have gotten married, then divorced. Instead, I followed the advice of someone I respected, and mayhem resulted. The fact that the someone was my father is excusable, the fact that he was a lawyer made it ironic.

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It's a tricky business.

quote:

As with many things in life, marriage and divorce are complex, with multiple variables and cannot be reduced to a simple equation dependent only on the presence or absence of a single factor.

Exactly my point. General Mattis no doubt analyzes situations and is a voracious reader. I did not mean to imply that he was an expert on marriage. It was a comment that was meant in jest. I have met individuals such as that who are so dedicated to their work and mission in life that they do not have time to pursue women. That is all. Relationships are complex.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:... Relationships are complex.

Not really.

The Hanky Pankey is much like the Hokey Pokey.

Only using different parts...