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Do I need an appraisal?
Alik,
Quick points:
1) who is your judge? Each has different tendencies and procedures. For
example, I posted here just yesterday that Judge Brand will accept a
declaration.
2) If the judge is VZ, you're now in the land of adversary. Adversaries do
not always stip out. Do you have the time, money and resources to see this
all the way through?
3) You don't say the balance of the 2nd. Assuming it's not de minimus, are
you willing to roll the dice on a declaration when it makes good business
sense for the bank to counter with an appraisal that says the property is
worth $140K? Given this evidence, how do you suppose a judge will assign
weight to a debtor's self-serving lay opinion against a professional
appraisal?
4) Further, are you prepared to take this to trial over a $5K spread in
values and let a judge decide this for you? A lot of work goes into
preparing for trial; work you may or may not ever get paid for. (not that
this should enter into decision-making - I'll wager most of us are owed
money for work we'll never see because we want to help people; it comes with
the territory, but I digress).
5) Finally, given the non-de minimus value of the 2nd, the benefit derived
from stripping tens of thousands of dollars, and paying only
pennies-on-the-dollar, it's my humble opinion that a few-Franklin investment
on an bona fide appraisal is money well-spent to eliminate $25K-50K.
Particularly with such a close valuation spread, and it's still no guarantee
of smooth sailing.
It's a good practice to assess the spread between value and balance in
consultations, and if the value is close to, ask debtor to pay for an
appraisal before law firm retention. This way, risks are known -- by all --
before the first dollar is paid to debtor's counsel.
Just my $0.02, your mileage may vary, and all other standard disclaimers
apply,
Hale
_____
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It depends on the judge and on the declaration you submit - -you have to
qualify the client properly in the declaration. Nevertheless, I don't
submit 506 motions without an appraisal because I would rather not appear
in court over and over because the bank challenged the client's valuation
or because the Court didn't think you established the client's
qualifications to opine properly. It ends up being more expensive for the
attorney because if you charge for the motion, the Court will not always
allow you to be compensated for all your time just because you had to go
back to court once or more than once. I like to win valuation motions
before the hearing and a duly authenticated full appraisal is the easiest
way to do that.
Giovanni Orantes, Esq.
Orantes Law Firm, P.C.
3435 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1980
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel: (213) 389-4362
Fax: (877) 789-5776
e-mail: go@gobklaw.com
website: www.gobklaw.com
WE ARE A "DEBT RELIEF AGENCY" AS DEFINED BY FEDERAL LAW.
It depends on the judge and on the declaration you submit - -you have to qualify the client properly in the declaration. Nevertheless, I don't submit 506 motions without an appraisal because I would rather not appear in court over and over because the bank challenged the client's valuatio
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I am stripping a junior lien. My client does not want to pay for an
appraisal, and maybe he has a point. What would you do?
The 1st balance is 132K. The Zillow value for the subject property is
127K. An identical house two doors down is for sale for 125K.
Do I need an appraisal? Can I go with the client's declaration?
Alik Segal
Alik.Segal@gmail.com
310-362-6157
California Central District
I am stripping a junior lien. My client does not want to pay for an appraisal, and maybe he has a point. What would you do?The 1st balance is 132K. The Zillow value for the subject property is 127K. Do I need an appraisal? Can I go with the client's declaration?-- Alik SegalAlik.Segal@gmail.com
310-362-6157California Central District
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