An article in the May 19 edition of The Champion tells an important cautionary tale about a Georgia-based real estate appraiser who was sentenced to almost three years in federal prison for his part in a real estate appraisal scam.
According to the article, Edward Farley, the so-called ringleader in the scam, caused $23 million in losses to lenders by having Walter Herman, a real estate appraiser, inflate the value of each property he appraised by $50,000 to $100,000, and then found inexperienced investors to purchase the properties from one of his real estate companies. Farley received a 25-year sentence, and Herman received the nearly three-year sentence for complicity.
This incident underscores the importance of a point we’ve made many times across many blogs – be sure you use a licensed, established, reputable real estate appraiser. Thoroughly check their credentials. Find out if they belong to appraisal organizations, like NEBBI and NAPA. And if something seems wrong, be sure you speak up.
