Business ProfileforLamb Hanson Lamb Appraisal Associates Inc

We hired this appraisal company in an effort to have a neutral appraised value as part of a divorce settlement. We paid $2500.00 for this appraisal which is very expensive, much higher than market. My previous career was as a Realtor with over 15 years experience in a top producing office in *******. I have reviewed 100s of appraisals. The appraisal we received used only one comparable property in the same neighborhood with the same zoning as the subject property, and used 5 other sales in very different neighborhoods, many of which were not zoned the same way. The first principle in real estate is: location, location, location. This is common knowledge, and the reason why in a bank appraisal you have to explain any comparable property more than 1 mile from the subject. To compare properties in completely different neighborhoods is unreliable and irresponsible. The appraisal we received would not be accepted by a bank.Additionally, I found mathematical errors in the calculations in the +/- area of the report where many times value was added rather than subtracted.Finally, they used 1/2 of the final calculation for value of the property based on gross rent multiplier, which is an ****** simplified way to look at rental income providing value for the property. For example, we recently sold a 4plex where if you used this calculation the property would be valued at 2.4M, however it sold for *****. By my calculation for this subject property they over estimated the value based on rental income by close to 300K. For this portion of the valuation they used all comps in different neighborhoods, none in the subject property area. This is an extremely irresponsible valuation.I emailed that the appraisal is unacceptable, with market research clearly showing that more than 10 properties exist to compare to within the same zip code as our property. This company refused to answer any questions, despite the substandard appraisal. We were told that they would only answer questions through our attorneys. This approach to any client, especially when the fee is inordinate to begin with, is clearly poor business and unethical. To refer a client to ask only through their attorney encourages people to accept at face value their opinion without explanation, as it quickly increases cost. This is the message we received:(our names),From here on out, we are only willing to communicate with your lawyers. Feel free to pass your concerns on to council and have him/her reach out to me for further consultation.Thank you **************************, MAI President/CEO ********************** *********** *** **************** www.lambhansonlamb.com Second response after I provide market data from our neighborhood which is ignored in the appraisal:Hello ****,As previously mentioned, we will not be responding this these emails. Please have your attorney call me to go over legal procedures in this case.Thank you **************************, MAI President/CEO ********************** *********** *** **************** www.lambhansonlamb.com In my opinion, this is unacceptable and unethical business practice. If you want to pay an extreme fee for a company that refuses to answer questions, and may provide a non-evidenced value, please use these people. Otherwise I suggest you look elsewhere.