OSTENDORF APPRAISAL SERVICES INC

Appraisal was performed by Tracy promptly and report provided to my lender.  Appraisal was for an "as-is" HUD investment home where no repairs would be made by HUD.  Initial appraisal came back at purchase price with "as-is" box check on the appraisal.  Also mentioned that there was mold in the basement.  When my lender questioned the mold statement in the report, she changed her appraisal from "as-is" to "subject to the following repairs..." box.  Essentially, she was now requiring that the problem be repaired prior to closing.  Since this was an "as-is" HUD home, my lender essentially denied my loan 1 week before closing.  We had to scramble and borrow money to close with cash but almost lost out on the house.  Very frustrating and stressful situation.
The house, even with the mold and other defects, was easily worth the purchase price and I would buy it 1000 times over.  Now, with some updates and repairs, we have 40-60k in equity in the house.
My feeling is that this company was trying to cover their *** in this instance and play it safe.  I would not recommend this company for any "as-is" purchases.

not accurate

The total experience was good to excellent. The appraisal took about 30 minutes and the report was very complete and thorough and received in a timely manner. I was advised the appraisal would not been done until I had paid the bill, I had no issue with that, however, I was not contacted to schedule the appraisal until I had paid the bill. It would have been nice to know that the bill had to paid before the appraiser contacted me to schedule the appraisal.

Ostendorf called to schedule an appointment. The appointment was made within a few days. The appraiser arrived right on time. She began the appraisal of the home interior first so I could put my daughter down for her nap. She then moved to the outside. She asked a couple of questions. She checked each area of the house and took pictures both inside and out. She was very polite and efficient as the appraisal took around 30 minutes. The appraisal was written and submitted to the bank the next day. The report was thorough and did a good job of finding comparable properties in the area (which there are not many).

We had our house appraised years before by a different company and that appraiser didn't even enter the house nor ask us if we made any improvements to it. Heck, we didn't even get a copy of the final report. Ostendorf appears to be a professional, fair, and objective appraiser.