The Property Sciences Group

Fast forward two months and we listed our property for $ 650K and are in escrow at $ 625 K. This after they appraised it at $ 560K. They suck.

I am shocked at these bad reviews. I have had nothing but a great experience. Suzanne has been absolutely wonderful to deal with from the first call and email I made. I have felt with 2 other companies in the last and this has been by far my best experience.

I really wish I had been given the opportunity to choose my own appraiser rather than depend on the one the lender assigned. The initial phone call I had with the appraiser should have been my first clue as to the company’s lack of professionalism. The appraiser didn’t seem to know what the heck was going on, nor did he sound like he even cared. Luckily the appraisal amount came back at what I needed, hence the two stars. It appears that based on the other reviews, I was extremely lucky. I’m really big on first impressions and in my business professionalism is huge. There’s no way I would have chosen to work with this company if I had been given the choice.

I refinanced my property August 2014. The lender used Property Sciences Group so I had no choice as to who did the appraisal. I was told the fee would be $ 450. They subcontracted out the work to an appraiser in Torrance, Ca, who worked for a different company. She spent about 10 mins at the house. She used the current comparable sales in the neighborhood but came in $ 70k lower than the best comparable. On top of that, they charged my credit card $ 575. I have appealed the fee thru Chase, and the value they assigned to the property. The low value torpedoed my refi. My advice to anyone needing an appraisal is to get the fee amount in writing: Once the merchant scans the card, or you give verbal approval over the phone, the bank must honor the purchase even if the final amount varies wildly from the «estimate.» When I contacted Property Sciences they were rude to me on the phone, refused to discuss it, and hung up on me.
My advice: Ask your lender who the appraisal company is, and check them out on Unilocal before you take the next step.

Agree with all 3 previous reviews. Why on earth would Patelco still continue to use Property Sciences Group to do appraisals for their members? How is it possible that these morons appraised my home lower than it was appraised 1 year ago? Here’s the answer: 1) they used non-​comparable homes; and 2) they did not compare my home to a recent sale 1 block from my street.
My #1 mistake is not checking the Unilocal reviews 1^st.

I would also give this company zero stars. They charged me for an appraisal that was cancelled, and then charged me for it again and again in subsequent months. They charged me for it three times and credited me for it three times when I never used their services. Thank goodness they never got to the point of doing an appraisal and thank goodness I checked the details on my credit card bill. I’ll be watching next month to see if they charge me again! $ 425!

I would give this company no stars if it was possible. I have dealt with many appraisers and real estate companies in the past, but this company is a joke! We basically paid $ 425 for an appraisal that used the average amount of non-​comparable houses. We just bought our home 7 months ago and decided to re-​finance since the rates are so low. They appraised our house value at 12.5% less than it was 7 months ago and now we have to put more money into our loan since they appraised our house so low. You’ve got to be kidding me! I know the market has gotten worse, but it’s not that bad. The appraiser they sent out to our home was clueless and might as well been a random person off the street. Run for the hills if they send this company out to do your appraisal because it will be worthless. We had to pay for another appraisal from a different company because the one from Property Science Group was so bad!
On a side note, I have sent both an email and a hard copy letter to the company regarding our terrible appraisal and have heard back from no one… I guess their customer service is just as bad as their appraisals!

Eh. The worst report ever written. I paid for garbage.
the comparables were over 2 miles away while there was a recenet sale on my street with the same floor plan and room count and condition last month.