I get where you're coming from, but honestly, I think lenders and appraisers are just feeling the pressure from regulators lately. When we refinanced last year, our appraiser was pretty chill about minor cosmetic stuff—didn't even blink at some chipped paint on our porch railing. But he did mention that they're getting audited more frequently now, so they're probably just being extra cautious to avoid any trouble down the line.
I mean, peeling paint on a shed does sound a bit extreme to flag as hazardous, but maybe your appraiser had a bad experience recently or something? Seems like it varies a lot depending on who you get and what their recent experiences have been. It's frustrating for sure, but I doubt they're intentionally trying to make things difficult...probably just covering their bases because of tighter oversight.
"Seems like it varies a lot depending on who you get and what their recent experiences have been."
Yeah, that's exactly it. When we bought our place a couple years ago, the appraiser was super picky about some random stuff—like a cracked tile in the bathroom (seriously?). But my sister refinanced recently and said her appraiser barely glanced around. I think you're right about the audits and tighter oversight...they're probably just trying to avoid headaches later. Still annoying though, especially when you're already stressed about the whole mortgage thing.
Yeah, hearing this makes me a bit nervous as a first-timer. Seems like there's no real consistency—just luck of the draw. I get they're trying to cover themselves, but cracked tiles? Really? Guess I'll just brace myself for some random nitpicking. Good to know it's not just me being paranoid though...
I remember when I bought my first place, the inspector flagged a tiny crack in the driveway—like seriously tiny—and suddenly it was a whole thing. Felt like they were just looking for something to justify their fee. You're definitely not paranoid...it's just part of the process these days.
"Felt like they were just looking for something to justify their fee."
Yeah, inspectors can be pretty thorough—sometimes overly so. I remember mine pointing out some "potential moisture" in the attic that turned out to be basically nothing. But I guess it's better they're picky than missing something big, right? Maybe it's more about liability these days... Did you end up having to fix that tiny crack, or did they let it slide?
