Who orders the appraisal, and why you do not pick the appraiser

On a home loan, the lender orders the appraisal, even though the borrower is usually the one who pays for it.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that when you borrow to buy or refinance, your lender may need a new appraisal and may ask you to cover the cost. Paying the fee does not make you the client. The lender is the one relying on the report, so the lender controls the order.

Lenders usually do not phone an appraiser themselves. They place the order through an appraisal management company, often called an AMC. The AMC finds an appraiser, tracks the job, collects the finished report and passes it back to the lender. You may never speak to the AMC, and that is normal.

Because the value has to come from the appraiser's own judgment, not from anyone who wants the loan to close.

Federal rules under Regulation Z, section 1026.42, bar people involved in the loan from pressuring, rewarding or instructing an appraiser to reach a particular number. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide lists selection of the appraiser among the lender's own responsibilities. Keeping the borrower, the agent and the loan officer out of that choice protects the report from influence, even the friendly, well meaning kind.

It also protects you. A value nudged upward could let you borrow against a price the home does not support.

Yes, sharing facts is allowed; pushing for a number is not.

The same rule that bars pressure also lists permitted actions. These include asking the appraiser to consider additional, appropriate property information, such as comparable sales, and asking for more explanation of how the appraiser reached the conclusion. So it is fine to hand over a list of recent updates or point out a feature that is easy to miss. It is not fine to mention the price you need.

You choose when you are the client, which means the appraisal is not being ordered by a lender for a loan.

Common examples are settling an estate, dividing property in a divorce, preparing to list a home, or questioning a tax assessment. In those cases you hire the appraiser directly, agree on the scope of the work and receive the report yourself. If that describes your situation, you can schedule a home appraisal with Pocket Appraisal, a national residential appraisal service.