There has been a lot of coverage in the media recently about mortgage fraud. As a real property appraiser and member of the Appraisal Institute, I am pleased this issue is now getting so much public attention.

For years, many mortgage brokers, lenders, real estate agents and others have been pressuring appraisers to supply a value for a home that makes the deal go through and then threatening the appraiser that they won't be paid or hired again if they don't come up with the lender or broker's desired value.

Younger or less experienced appraisers may have trouble turning down work, and they may succumb to the pressure. More experienced appraisers, who have advanced accreditation, are often better equipped to deal with the pressure. Either way, no appraiser should have to deal with it.

Individual states and the federal government should follow the lead of the State of California. It recently passed a bill making it a crime to coerce an appraiser into providing a pre-determined value in order to make a deal go through. If the system won't reform itself,

then appraisers need legal protection so that homes are valued accurately with no coercion. This ultimately protects the home buyer from overpaying for a home.

-Terri Pittman

Dobbins